Dimensional Chaos
by SonicChaosEmerald
Summary: Eggman has finally had it, and has brought in villains from across multiple dimensions. Sonic, Shantae, and even more characters will have to team up in order to restore the dimensions before their greatest enemies take over! Authors Note: It says only two worlds are crossed over, but it's actually seven. doesn't allow more that 2 series for crossovers.
1. Prolouge: Villains Assemble

_**10:45 P.M.**_

_**Death Egg, Outer Atmosphere**_

The large egg-shaped scientist slammed his fists against the console of the control room of his gigantic orbiting satellite. The blue hedgehog had foiled his plans again, for who knows how many times at this point. Every time he came close to completeing his plans for domination, that blue blur had made everything come crashing down to the ground.

"There has to be a way to stop that hedgehog... but how?!" He though angrily, slamming his fists against the console again. He looked over at the white crystalized diamond within the command console. A thought occurred to him.

"Wait a minute, that's it!" He said, rapidly typing into the command console. "If the Chaos Emeralds are powerful enough to manipulate time, they may just be enough to manipulate the dimensions as well!" A smug grin appeared on his face. "If I can use the Emerald I have now to contact across the radio waves between dimensions, I can assemble the ultimate league of villains! Now then, time to establish the connection..." He said, rapidly typing across the keyboard. The grin grew on his face as the connection was established between several other dimensions; Dimension #09131985, Dimension #12111997, Dimension #04021994, Dimension #06062002, and Dimension #03222001.

"Wh-what?!" An annoyed female voice said. "Who is this?!"

A grin appeared on the scientist's face. "Fellow villains!" He triumphantly announced. "We have a lot of discussion to unfold..."

_**12:56 P.M.**_

_**Death Egg, Outer Atmosphere**_

"Ah, that must be them now." The egg shaped scientist said from his view above the hangar. Multiple airships of varying sizes flew into the hangar. "It would have been nice to get some formal introductions before this actual meeting, but, I guess you can't have all your Egg Pawns coming off the assembly line in perfect working order."

The first figure to depart from one of the more traditional pirate airships was a giant, lumbering, spiked-shelled turtle-dragon. A fierce look in its eyes meant one thing: death to traitors.

Departing from a more technologically advanced pirate ship was a pale skinned pirate captainess, having purple hair, most of which was kept under her captains' hat, large golden earrings, and a rather odd getup.

Departing from a more dark and shadowy airship was a tall and rather dark figure, cloaked in a dark robe and wore a large golden helmet of an odd bird creature. Leaving with him was a small imp-like clown.

Finally, leaving from the last, steampunkesque airship, was a rather odd figure. Dressed in multiple colored robes, and white face paint, he was definitely an odd sight.

"Fellow villans," The egg-shaped scientist said. "I appreciate you coming on such a short notice. We will get the formalities out of the way once you all get to the meeting room..."

The other characters looked at eachother in confusion before heading into the odd technological sanctum.

"This is definitely a different departure then my castle back home.." The turtle-dragon said. "Feels like there's a severe lack of lava.."

"Hey, I'm more used to sea travel, and this isn't really bugging me all that much." The piratess said. "Maybe you're just homesick. Ironic that it's the big bruiser that's the one!"

"You makin' something out of it?" The turtle-dragon said. "I could fry you to well-done in a matter of seconds!"

"Oh _suuuure_ you could." The piratess said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Settle down now, all of you," The scientist's voice rang over the speakers. "You can commence with the arguing after what I explain."

Soon the group stopped at a door the yellow guide line had led them to. The door opened to a meeting room, oddly enough each chair was crafted that it mached each of the villain's personalities. at the far end, a large white, egg-shaped chair sat, unmoving.

The piratess felt a bit unnerved at the tone that the room was giving off. Each villain sat at their respective chairs.

"Now then," The white chair turned around, showing an egg-shaped man with a large mustache. "We have a lot to discuss..."

"Alright," The piratess said. "Why are we here in the first place again?"

"Ah, yes, about that," The scientist said. "I have called you all here to discuss about a certain issue that seems to plague us."

"You mean the ones that keep us from getting our way, am I correct?" The large turtle dragon grunted. The scientist nodded. "That and the fact that no matter what we do on our own doesn't seem to succeed."

"Look, I'm not here for any sort of pity-party," The piratess said, crossing her arms. "so get to the point."

"Fine." The scientist said. "I am proposing an alliance to stop these little menaces for good, and to finally claim the worldly titles we truly deserve!"

"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" The jester said.

"I' will show you." The scientist said. "Follow." The scientist left through a back door, with the others shortly following.

The piratess eyed the the tall dark figure for a second seemed to be a bit unnerved by his presence. "You know," she said to the turtle dragon. "Tall, dark, and creepy needs to lighten up a bit..."

"Now, then," The scientist said. "Our concern is to gather these." He held up a small, white, diamond gem. He could have sworn he saw dollar signs appear in the piratess' eyes.

"So," she said. "What's the going price on a clean-cut gem like that?"

"Risky, please," The scientist said. "These gems contain far more power than you could EVER put a price on."

"You mentioned something about gemstones in your message you sent out, didn't you?" The small imp-clown asked. "Lord Ghadius seemed rather interested in whatever you had planned."

"Well, let me get to EXPLAINING THAT, would you?" The scientist said, rather annoyed. "These gems are known as the Chaos Emeralds." He said, typing something into the touchscreen in front of him. "Obtaining all seven of these gems can grant the user near-ultimate power..."

"That definitely something that sounds like something that could be useful..." The turtle dragon muttered. "Could use that so crush a certain Italian plumber..."

"Now then," The scientist said. "I have managed to track down the location of at least one of the gems," He typed more into the touchscreen keyboard. A map of a city showed up, and a red blip binged on the map. "and it's here. Risky, I'm leaving this one up to you."

The piratess saluted. "...you don't need to salute me." The scientist said.

"My troops will be departing there shortly." The piratess said, then turned to leave.

The other villains soon then departed, but the scientist was stopped by the shadowy figure when he tried to leave the control room.

"A word with you, sir..." The tall dark shadowy figure said to the scientist.

"What is it Ghadius?" The scientist said.

Ghadius held out one hand, and a small dark crystal formed in his hand.

"What is this?" The scientist said. "It's not like anything I've seen before."

"This," Ghadius stated. "is part of a failed plan I had a while back to control Phantomile. It is a fragment from the Egg of Destruction..."

"Explain," The scientist said. "I don't seem to understand as to what this thing is."

"It will be revealed later," Ghadius said. "Should all else fail, this will be our final weapon..." He turned and walked down the other way of the corridor.

The scientist looked at the odd crystal. "Computer, analyze." He said, placing the crystal into the scanner. "This is an interesting substance... now if only Risky is holding up her end of the plan.."

* * *

><p>Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at a mega-crossover. I've seen a couple floating around here, but not something to this big a degree. This will be several, and I mean SEVERAL chapters per dimension world, often introducing characters, epic boss battles, and a deep, intertwined story. Rating is K+ due to small traces of blood in the story itself. Characters are kept to their characters as best as possible, though a couple areas have been merged together, and a couple locations have had slight name edits. Hopefully I won't get ridiculed for that.<p>

Constructive criticism is welcome, but if any sort of degrading reviews for no reason are seen on here, I will delete them, and I WILL block you from my work. If it continues, I WILL report you.

Thank you, and have a good day.


	2. Chapter 1: The Dimensions Collide

-  
><strong><em>10:53 A.M.<br>First National Hexaeco Bank_**

It was a rather quiet time at the back. People coming and going, checking rising and falling stock prices, making withdrawals and deposits...

In line for the teller, a cloaked figure waited in line, a small smirk appeared on her face. As soon as she got to the booth, she reached for a holster on her side.

"I'd like to make a withdrawal." She said to the teller.

"And how much would that be?" The teller asked.

"Everything," She said pulling out what looked like a flintlock pistol and shot it twice into the air. People ran in panic to get away from whatever was happening.

"Everyone, on the ground, NOW!" She yelled. "On the ground! Next person to call for authorities gets a taste of lead!"

-  
><strong><em>10:55 A.M.<br>Hexaeco City Mall_**

"Seriously, Ames?" The blue anthro hedgehog said. "A shopping trip is NOT how I wanted to spend my afternoon."

"Oh, cheer up, you blue sulk," The perky pink female hedgehog said. "You need to lighten up more."

The blue hedgehog merely rolled his green eyes at the statement. SHE wasn't the one carrying nearly everything she had bought.

"I'm not the one having the easy time here, now am I?" He retorted.

"Lighten up." She shot a sharp glare at him. "Just three more stops and then we'll be done."

The blue hedgehog sighed. _'Why do I put myself into these situations...' _

The next stop had the hedgehog waiting outside a store with multiple TVs. A news broadcast suddenly came on.

"We interrupt this program for an important news broadcast." The reporter on the TV said. "There has been a break-in at the First National Hexaeco Bank. Reports have been accounted of large amounts of money have been stolen, along with the Chaos Emerald."

At the mention of the term "Chaos Emerald", the hedgehog's spines perked up. "Eyewitness report one of the customers threatened the teller at gunpoint before forcing him to open the vault. We will try to get more information when the culprit is captured..."

A large smirk appeared on the hedgehog's face. _'Finally, some action...' _

The pink hedgehog walked out of the storefront to see the stack of what she bought on the ground, and just in time to see a blue blur take off toward the city's downtown. She soon took off after it.

"Sonic!" She yelled. "Get back here!"

"Open the safe!" The person yelled, pointing the firearm at the teller. "Open it!"

The teller nodded hastily and typed something into the keyboard. Sirens blared loudly as the safe opened, showing large amounts of money. In the center of it was a small pedestal with a emerald green colored diamond on it.

The thief's eyes lit up as she went for the gem in the safe. Smaller minions seemed to pour into the vault, gathering up large amounts of money.

"Ah, here we are," The thief said. "This must be the gem. Now just to take this back to-" She was interrupted as a blue blur blazed right in front of her, and suddenly the gem was gone!

"I'm sorry, looking for this?" A voice said. The thief turned around to see the blue hedgehog, holding the Chaos Emerald in his right hand. "Sorry, but petty thieves like you don't need these."

"So," The thief said. "You must be the hedgehog the doctor told me about..." She chuckled a bit. "Well then," she said tearing away the cloak. "You are about to mess with the greatest pirate in existence; Risky Boots!"

"Pfft. 'Greatest windbag' is more like it." The hedgehog sneered. "Like I'm gonna believe you're some pirate captain. What do I look like, an idiot?"

"Oh, I see." The piratess said. "Looks like the little rat has an attitude."

"Look, do I need to take you to get glasses before I kick your can?" The hedgehog said. "I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!"

"Rodents all the same." The piratess said. "Nothing like a little extermination to secure this operation."

"Look, some ones leaving this place first, and it ain't m-" The hedgehog was cut off as a bullet whizzed by his head, striking the vault wall behind him.

"You wanna repeat that?" The piratess said through gritted teeth, gun barrel smoking from the shot she just fired.

"Oh, so you wanna play THAT game, do ya?" The hedgehog said with a big smirk on his face. "Well then, been a while since I had a good rumble. Let's do this!"

"You'll regret this..." The piratess gritted through her teeth.

"Lady," The hedgehog, Sonic, said. "The only one around here who will regret anything will be YOU!"

"We'll see about that, blue rat!" The piratess aimed her gun and started firing off bullets like mad. Sonic immediately dashed to the right, out of the line of fire the piratess kept aim on the hedgehog until she got fed up and switched it to a different setting.

"Man, you're really a bad shot!" Sonic sarcastically said. "What did you graduate from Egg Pawn Academy or something?"

"Ah shut up!" The piratess yelled before firing off her weapon again, this time releasing a small missile. A look of shock appeared on Sonic's face as he dodged out of the way of the missile, blowing up the wall where he was standing just a few seconds ago.

"Since when do guns fire missiles?!" He yelled.

"Since that scientist was able to modify this weapon." The piratess said. "Now hand over the gem!"

"Pfft, yeah right." Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "You really think that I'm gonna just hand over the gem and leave? Fat chance."

The piratess nodded. "Then you have just sealed you fate, blue rat..."

"I'm a hedgehog!" Sonic yelled. Almost immediately the piratess fired off several missiles at Sonic. Sonic immediately dashed to the side, moving away from the missiles.

"Hold still, you little..." the piratess muttered. Before she could even finish her sentence, four large golden rings flew out, destroying the missiles.

"Wh-what?!" The piratess exclaimed, shocked. The golden rings flew back and linked around the wrists of a girl standing in an opening caused by one of the missile blasts.

Sonic was dumbstruck, but the piratess knew exactly what was going on. She merely smirked.

"So we meet again, half-genie..."

The girl jumped down from the opening, and Sonic got a better look at her. The girl was definitely not from around here, noting by her tanned skin. Her lavender hair was pinned up into a large ponytail, cuffed by a golden cuff at the base. She wore a golden headband with a sapphire gem in the forehead of it, and wore a red bedlah with golden trim, a sleeveless brown vest, and red shoes. Two golden rings wrapped around each of her wrists, and if looks could kill, her piercing blue eyes said it all.

"Should've expected that you got fed up with your failed attempts to conquer the island and ran off again." The girl said. Sonic was baffled at exactly what was happening.

"Hmph, persistent as ever, I see," The piratess said, putting a hand on her hip. "What, the old man of yours find a way to track me?"

"When other pirates don't attack Scuttle town for a while, it's generally a relief. YOU, on the other hand, if you don't attack the island, something's going on," the other girl said.

The hedgehog looked back and forth, confused as to what was going on. "Ok, what is this?" he said.

"Hmph, well then," the piratess said, drawing her sword. "Perhaps you would like to taste my blade?"

"Did you forget?" The other girl said. "I've beaten you so many times before, it's gotten old."

"That's why the old scientist installed this..." the piratess said, pushing a button on the hilt. The sword then started glowing a blue aura glowing around the blade.

"What the..." The other girl said, and barely had any time to react before the piratess fired off a blue wave of energy at the girl. She barely managed to dodge out of the way.

"Hmph, maybe that old kook had something goin' for this..." The piratess said. She then jumped back up to the ship floating back outside the bank.

"Get back here!" The other girl said. She ran out of the bank, with Sonic shortly following.

"Listen up!" The piratess said from the deck of the airship. "This is only the beginning of what is to come! Either admit your surrender," She said. "or every single one of your worlds will succumb to the wrath of the Empire!" At that moment the airship took off away from the bank, the piratess with a smirk on her face.

"Hey, get back here!" The other girl said. But the airship took off without turning back. The girl stamped her foot.

"Ah, shoot!" The girl said. "Thought I had her this time..."

"I'm sorry," Sonic said. "But who exactly are you?"

The girl looked over at the blue hedgehog. "Oh, sorry, didn't explain myself." She said. "I'm Shantae."

"Shantae, eh?" Sonic said. "Nice name." He extended his hand. "Name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

"So, you're not from around here?" The hedgehog asked the girl as they walked down the sidewalk of the cities.

The girl shook her head. "No, not really," She said. "I'm actually from Sequin Island."

"Sequin Island?" Sonic asked, a confused look on his brow. "Odd name for a place. Don't think I've ever heard about that place before."

"Hey, it's home for me." She said. "Definitely a lot more laid back than around here."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sonic said. "Never a dull moment in this city."

"SONIC!" Yelled a voice from behind the two.

"Case Number 1." Sonic said before he was tackled by the pink hedgehog.

"That is the LAST time I'm letting you run away from me!" She said, nearly smothering Sonic.

"Yeah, yeah, get off Ames," Sonic said shoving her off.

"And exactly who is this girl?" Amy asked.

Sonic got up from the sidewalk. "Well, meet Shantae." Sonic said. "She helped me stop that bank holdup earlier."

"Oh, she did?" Amy asked. "Well, I was wonderin' where you went after you ditched me at the store."

"Hey," Shantae said. "To be fair, he was useful in helping me."

"Yeah, yeah," Amy said, rolling her eyes. "So, where are you going now?"

"Not really sure," Sonic said. "We don't know where that pirate girl flew off to but I don't like the looks of this." His wristwatch was then beeping suddenly. He clicked a button on one side, and a voice message started playing.

"Sonic, can you hear me?" A voice of a young boy spoke from the watch.

"Roger that, good buddy." Sonic said. "What's up?"

"Get here, and fast! We've got trouble!" The voice said.

"Roger that, we'll be there as soon as possible." Sonic said. "Sonic, out." He then clicked the switch again and ended the message.

"Who was that?" Shantae asked.

"Tails, an old friend of mine." Sonic said, pulling his gloves on. "C'mon, I'll get the formalities after we get to the Mystic Ruins." With that Sonic took off, the other two following him in hot pursuit.

"So, this is the place?" Shantae asked as she looked out the window as the train rolled into the station.

"Yeah," Sonic said. "This is the place. C'mon, I know where his place is."

A quick trip up a hill had the group arrive at a workshop overlooking a long straightaway over a cliff. Sonic knocked on the door to the building.

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic shouted. "We're here like you asked!"

"Great!" A voice said. "You guys can come in!"

Sonic opened the door and walked inside, Shantae and Amy shortly followed.

"Good thing you guys could make it." A young, twin-tailed fox said.

"So, why all the hubub, Tails?" Sonic asked. "Usually things aren't this hectic."

"Let me explain that." Tails said, turning and rapidly typing something into the computer. What flashed onto the screen was a sattelite feed looking near a giant Spherical space station.

"So?" Sonic said. "It's just the Death Egg."

"Yeah but look carefully." Tails said, redirecting the video feed near an area nearby the station. A large swirling portal openned, and four large airships flew out and headed for the docking bay.

"Looks like Eggman's calling on reinforcements," Tails said. "Guess he decided to hire others to finish us off."

"Wait," Shantae said, stopping the video footage. "Go back, to the part where the ships are exiting the portal."

Tails nodded and rewound the footage to where the ships were leaving the portal.

"There," She said. "Pause it right there."

Tails stopped the video footage. Shantae pointed to a mechanical ship exiting the portal. "That's Risky's ship." Shantae said. "The same one that was docked outside the bank earlier this day."

"Wait, you KNOW her?" Sonic asked.

Shantae nodded. "All too well."

"Wait," Tails said. "Then, if you know the person on that ship, and that ship came from another dimension, then that means..."

"You got it," Shantae said, whipping her lavender hair back. "I'm from the same dimension she is."

Tails jaw almost dropped in awe. "Wow, this is incredible!" He said. "I never thought we'd have ANOTHER dimensional crossover ever since Blaze!"

"Who?" Shantae asked.

"Blaze. She's an old friend of mine." Sonic said. "Anywho, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, let's see," Tails said, turning back to his computer. "If I can find out what all dimensions Eggman somehow managed to link to, we might be able to get our own help!"

"And blow that Egghead right out of the water!" Sonic said. "Nice thinking, Tails."

"No problem," He said, before turning back to his computer. "Ok, so I know our dimension number is #06231997... so, if I trace all dimensional openings within the past 24 hours... Got it!"

Several other dimensional pins flashed up on the screen: #09131985, #12111997, #04021994, #06062002, and #03222001.

"So," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "These the other dimensions he's linked with?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah, and who knows how many more he's planning to access!"

Suddenly an alarm started blaring on screen. Tails frantically typed into the keyboard to find out what was going on.

"Looks like another portal's been opened!" Tails exclaimed. "And it's right over the Mystic Ruins!"

"Which one is it coming from?!" Sonic yelled.

Tails frantically typed onto the keyboard again. "Dimension #04021994!"

AN: Well, looks like the events of the story are starting to fall into place. Another dimensional portal has opened, but what is coming out of it? What is Eggman's grand scheme? And just what is going on? Next chapter will be up soon, so stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 2: Fantasy Turned Reality

**_11:45 A.M.  
>Airspace over Mystic Ruins<em>**

As a large tear in the dimension fabric opened, an airship, experiencing engine failure, tries to guide the stricken craft to safely land somewhere over the land.

"C'mon, Setzer!" yelled a teen girl with emerald green hair. "Can't you get this thing to land safely?!"

"Look, Terra," A slightly older man with stark white hair, Setzer, said. "Landing an older version of the Blackjack is not that easy! Maybe you would like to land this thing?!"

"Setzer, watch where you're going!" The girl, Terra, yelled. Setzer turned to see the airship headed straight for a rock face. With a hard jerk, he pulled up on the steering handle, pulling the entire airship up over the rock face, before the engine failed altogether, and the airship crashed into the forest over the other side of the mountains...

**_11:46 A.M.  
>Tails' Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"Did you guys just see that?!" Sonic said, pointing over the mountain where the airship went.

Tails nodded. "Something big is going on for sure. And I'll bet that whatever is going on has something to do with that airship."

"Well, why are we still waiting here?" Sonic said.

"He's right," Shantae said. "C'mon. We've got to get to that airship. Tails, where'd it crash?"

"Well," Tails said. "Firewood Forest is off in that direction..."

"Good enough directions." Sonic said. "Gotta juice!" Sonic grabbed Shantae's hand, and soon the two were off in a burst of speed to the ancient forest's castle...

The girl held on as the hedgehog sprinted up the mountain face before stopping at the top of the cliff face. Looking out over into the forest, the two could see the smoking wreck of the airship.

"That's our target right there." Sonic said, pointing out in the direction of the airship. "and it looks like we're not a lone.."

Several robotic bees flew by and headed for the ruined castle, where the ship landed. "Looks like old Egghead's interested in whatever's aboard that airship. And chances are.." Sonic said, turning to Shantae. "Miss Pirate Boots is gonna be interested as well."

"We'll let's get there before those tin cans do." Shantae said.

Sonic nodded. "Let's go."

**_11:50  
>Firewood Forest, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"Hey, Shantae!" The blue hedgehog yelled from the top of his tree perch. "Any sign of how close we are to that crashed airship?"

The lavender-haired half-genie shook her head from atop an abandoned stone tower. "Can't tell of the actual distance." She said. "You sure it crashed out in this direction?"

Sonic nodded. "Every one of us saw it crash out here."

"Well, why are we the ones having to go out?" Shantae asked.

"Tails is too busy tracking down the dimensional rifts." Sonic said. "C'mon, it's gotta be close by."

"Yeah," Shantae said, looking up. "Especially with that." She pointed up at a large airship in the sky.

"Ah, shoot!" Sonic said. "One of Eggman's Egg Carriers! Now we've really gotta move!"

"Well, let's get going then!" Shantae said, leaping from her perch. "We don't have all day!"

"That must be the wreck up ahead!" Shantae cried, running across one of the decrepit castle walls. The looming Egg Carrier over the entire valley cast a dark shadow over everything.

"On it!" Sonic said, launching off of a branch to the crash site. Almost immediately the Egg Carrier dropped down large magnet cranes to pick up the ship.

"Hurry up!" Shantae called.

The hedgehog blasted ahead past Shantae towards the wreck site. Shantae was struggling to catch up as the hedgehog gained ground towards the wreck. Soon he blasted into a large ruined courtyard, the site of the large wrecked ship. With a quick spinslash, he severed the lines that held the cables to retract the wrecked ship. The wires sparked as they retracted into the Egg Carrier.

_"That's gotta be the ship,"_ the blue hedgehog thought to himself. _"Whoever or whatever's on that thing has gotta have some value to Eggman..."_

"Wait... up!" Shantae wheezed as she slowed to a halt next to Sonic, trying to catch her breath. "Jeez... you've got way to much energy in you..."

"Aw, come on!" Sonic said. "Don't tell me you're winded already!"

"I can't run as fast as wind, Sonic!" Shantae retorted. "Just gimme a sec..."

"Hey just relax for a second." Sonic said. "Not like Eggman can really do anything now, otherwise-"

"Otherwise what, you miserable little pin cushion?" Came a voice from behind the hedgehog. Sonic spun around to see none other than the fat man himself, along with the new allies he had.

"Well, well," the blue hedgehog, crossed his arms and smirked. "If it isn't Baldy McNosehair and the flying circus!"

Most, if not all of Eggman's allies looked at him for an explanation as to what the hedgehog was saying. Eggman merely shook his head. "Now is not the time for petty insults, hedgehog!" He stated.

"What are you doing out here?" Sonic accused him.

"Well, my allies and myself have rather big plans for every world here," he said. "So unless you prefer to be turned into a lawn ornament, I suggest you and your little fanservice girl head back to where you came from."

"Ok, first of all," Sonic started, "She could probably trash more of your tin cans than you could imagine. Secondly, how? With your court jester?" He said, pointing straight at the jester.

"Actually, yes!" Eggman said. "Kefka, show him you're not plaing around!"

Kefka did his signature laugh before leaping down to in front of the hedgehog...

"Well, then," The mad clown said. "Nothing like a little pain and suffering for this pin cushion to brighten my day!"

"You wish!" Sonic said. He charged up a SpinDash and charged straight at the mad clown. He cackled again and dodged out of the way, before blasting him with ice, freezing him in place.

"Not on my watch!" Shantae yelled. With a fling of her wrists, she fired off the four golden rings at Kefka. He merely yawned and raised a deflective barrier. The rings contacted the barrier, grinded against it for a few seconds, then were launched back at Shantae. She had no time to react, and was hit by the rings, knocking her backwards.

"Rather pitiful," He said. "If this is the big threat, This is very dissapointing."

"Oh, you wanted more?" Came a female voice from the wrecked ship. One of the hatches on the deck burst open, and a teen girl did a rather impressive axel flip over the entire villain legion before landing a few dozen feet in front of Kefka. Her green hair came back into a long ponytail at the back of her head. She wore a red leotard with an assortment of lavender cloth around her torso, held together by a teal green jewel in a golden ring. Her arms were covered in handless red, long gloves, and a lavender cape held around her neck by a small silver chain.

"So," Kefka grinned. "If it isn't Terra Branford..."

"What, just decided to start destroying other world after what you did to ours?" The green haired girl said, clenching her fists.

"Oh, merely pitiful..." The jester said. "Merely trying to follow me to this world is nothing...

"Should've given up while you had the chance!" The hedgehog said, breaking out of the ice.

"Bah, Kefka!" Eggman yelled. "We have no time for this!"

Kefka nodded and jumped back up to the platform where the others were. "Heed this, Sonic!" Eggman called. "Once the seven Emeralds are back within our possession, nothing will be able to stop us!" With that, they took off back to the Egg Carrier.

"Aw, bunch of cowards!" Sonic said, kicking a rock into the side of a tree.

"You ok?" The green haired girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sonic, said, dusting off the shoulders of his red jacket. "Name's Sonic. You?"

"I'm Terra, Terra Branford..." The girl said.

"Terra," Sonic said. "Was that your ship that crashed here?" He asked, pointing to the wrecked ship.

Terra nodded. "My friends and I were ambushed by Kefka's forces before entering that strange portal. We thought of it as an escape at the time being, but then the engines started failing.."

"And you crashed here?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms. Terra nodded. "And with the condition the Falcon is in, I don't think we're going anywhere for a while.."

"I'll contact Tails to see if he can help repair this ship." Sonic said. "We'll get these guys back to the workshop and figure out what we need to do from there." Shantae nodded.

"So, these are the ones at the crash site?" Tails asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, found the others more near the wreck. Met Terra before that."

"Interesting..." Tails said. "This might be something that Eggman's taking advantage of..."

"He mentioned something about the Chaos Emeralds before he took of." Shantae said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Chaos Emeralds... hold the phone...!" Tails said, then quickly started typing down information on the keyboard.

"Aha! Just as I figured!" He said. "Eggman's using Chaos energy to rip open the fabric of space itself! That's gotta be how he's crossing dimensions!"

"Well then, guesss we'll have to stop him, eh?" Sonic said, crossing his arms. "Please, I've dealt with a metallic version of myself, a giant water god of chaos, prevented a space colony from destroying the planet... yeah, this'll be a piece of cake."

"Sonic, the emerald." Tails said. "Can I see it?"

"Sure," Sonic said, tossing him the gem. "What for?"

"If I can focus the energy of the Chaos Emerald just enough, I might be able to get a portal ready!" Tails said. "We'll be able to stop him, no matter which dimension he's in!"

-  
><strong><em>11:00 A.M.<em>****  
><strong>**_Death Egg, Outer Atmosphere_**

"Well, it seems we have a larger issue on our hands..." Eggman grumbled. He then pushed a button on the console interface. "Troops," He broadcasted throughout the entire ship. "Get arms ready for deployment for Sequin Island."

The shutter door opened into the room, and who walked through was none other than Risky Boots. "You called for me Eggy?" She said.

"Ah, Risky, right on time." Egggman said. "You are to lead the invasion of Sequin Island. From what I have found, the sudden outburst of Chaos energy seemed to have dispersed the other Chaos Emeralds to the other dimensions. Find that Emerald."

"Pfft, you think I can't do this?" She said cockily. "I've led hundreds of plundering invasions before. This'll be no different."

"Before you go," Eggman said, typing on the interface. "I suggest you take this." A small pedestal holding a glass vial of liquid rose up next to Risky.

"What's this?" She asked, taking the vial.

"Part of a failed project I had a while back." He said. "Should worse come to wear, use that to drown out the entire landmass."

"Heh, no problem." She said, pocketing the vial and heading back through the shutter door.

"Best of luck, piratess..." He said. Suddenly an alarm sounded and various lights lit up on the interface. "Computer, status report!"

"WARNING. CHAOS ENERGY DETECTED. DIMENSION PORTAL OPENING IN HANGAR." The interface spoke.

"WHAT?!" Eggman shouted, slamming his fists onto the console.

"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."

A portal opened in the weapons hangar, launching out a small cabbit boy about the age of Tails. Clenched to a golden ring in his hand, he was flung across the hangar before smashing into the back wall, knocking him unconscious...

* * *

><p>Well well, it looks like the half-esper and company have now entered into the fray, and the Dream Traveler was not too far behind as well. But why was he released into the Death Egg? What was that vial Eggman gave Risky? And will Tails be able to create a portal gun for dimension crossing? Stay tuned!<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: Nightmares Becoming True

The small cabbit boy shuffled in pain as he tried to righten himself but to no avail, as he felt his strength leave him. He passed out on the metal floor, losing consciousness...

**_11:55 A.M.  
>Death Egg, Outer Atmosphere<em>**

"This mere kid was the one that halted your plans last time?" Eggman said, looking over the small cabbit boy after he was transferred to a prison holding cell.

Ghadius mere nodded. "He has an extraordinary power... Not even the ultimate nightmare I unleashed on the world could stop him..."

"Hmm, interesting," Eggman answered, looking over the boy again. "He appears to have massive power over the wind through the ring he holds... " He said, holding the golden ring the cabbit boy held. "This may require additional studies..." He gave the ring to one of his robots.

"Lock that up in the Armory." Eggman ordered the robot. "Have that ring studied, now. The sooner we can use it's power, the sooner our plan will be set into motion." The robot nodded, then silently scurried off.

A loud beeping came on over the dimensional transmitter. Eggman typed up on the computer interface. An image of Risky came up. "What now?" Eggman said, slightly annoyed.

"Just a progress checkup." She said, cocking her head slightly. "Troops are already scanning over every inch of the island. Nothing so far, but shouldn't be long before we find it."

"Very well," He said, shutting off the communicator. He didn't notice that the young cabbit boy was regaining consciousness...

The young cabbit boy slowly opened his eyes to see he was in a small mechanical-looking cell in some metallic area. He rubbed the side of his head in pain as he looked around.

"Where... am I?..." He asked himself, looking around with a confused look.

"Only aboard the finest station in the entire world." A voice said from behind him. He turned around to see a large egg shaped man standing in front of his cell. "And I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere for a while."

"Who... ARE you?" He asked.

"Dr. Ivo Robotnik. But you may refer to me as 'Eggman'." He said. "Now, due to the fact you are a threat to my plans for world domination, you are now in captivity aboard the Death Egg."

"Wh-what?!" The cabbit boy said. He reached to his side... only to find that his ring wasn't there! "What did you do to my ring?!"

"It's been commandeered." Eggman said. "And you won't be going anywhere for a _long time. So get used to where you are."_

Eggman then turned andwalked away from the cell, a smug grin on his face, leaving the small boy in the cell. The boy sat down and thought to himself.

' _Great, just great. I managed to get myself captured by some person that I don't even know who wants to control the world! Why me?..._ '

"Perhaps because you know how you have interfered in the past..." A darker voice said from outside the cell. The boy looked up and recognized the figure the voice belonged to.

"It's been a long time, Dream Traveler..." The figure said.

"Ghadius!" The boy cried. "Y-you're still alive?!"

"As ever, Dream Traveler..." He said. "You will not be interfering with our plans this time around.. the Doctor has made sure of that."

The boy tried to punch the energy field in front of his cell. He recoiled in pain as he felt an electric surge move through his body.

Ghadius merely chuckled at the sight. "You try and fight, even when you are completely powerless?" He turned to leave. "Pitiful..." He said as he departed.

The cabbit boy gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't let Ghadius get away with this. But he had no escape... or did he?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a vent grating leading into the airshafts. He saw his lead and took it.

He pulled the grate off the wall, crawled inside the vent then replaced the grate as if her was never there...

After a while of crawling, he heard voices above him. He peered through the grating above him at the next vent grate to see the scientist again, telling off a number of robots.

"I don't care how you do it, just unlock the secret of that ring!" He said. "You have 24 hours. Decrypt it! And then get loaded for the invasion of Sequin Island!" He then stormed out of the room.

The robots returned to their normal positions at where they were. The cabbit boy looked up and saw his ring in an odd machine.

_"Ok, I gotta get my ring back..."_ He thought to himself. "_but it looks like I'm gonna set off the alarms no matter what I do.." _He mentally sighed. _"Well, guess this is what it comes to.."_

The cabbit boy burst through the vent and mad a mad dash and grabbed his ring off the machine. The robots reached for their weapons... only to be sliced in half by the boy's ring sword. The cabbit boy then quickly ran out of the armory. Out of the corner of the room, a robotic arm reached up and pulled a lever sticking out of the wall. Alarms started blaring throughout the station as the cabbit boy ran down the corridors.

"WHAT?!" Eggman's enraged voice came over the speakers. "Stop him! He can't escape!"

Breathing turned heavy as the cabit boy rushed down the corridor. He took a turn and headed for the escape pod bay.

Quickly, the boy jumped into the pod and launched it before Eggman's robots could disable it.

"Ok," The boy said to himself. "Now just to see where this pod will take me.."

**_11:55 A.M.  
>Tails' Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"Dimensional Transmissions have already been set up. I've managed to contact several other dimensions through this." Tails said typing on the keyboard. "Black Mesa and Aperture Sciences are setting their disputes aside in order to set up dimensional defenses. Dream Land is already keeping itself safe, and Hyrule has its own issues."

"What about our own dimensions?" Terra asked, a concerned look on her face.

"That I'm working on." Tails said. "You should be more concerned about your friends. I'm currently working on the machine that can help get us between dimensions, but between that, and repairing the Falcon with Setzer, I've got my hands tied up."

"Look, we'll make the most of what we have and find out where they're hiding." Sonic said, leaning against the back wall. "The sooner we put them outta commission, the sooner this dimensional panic will stop."

"Then we need to keep looking," Shantae said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Once the machine is up and running, we'll head for my homeland, Sequin Island."

Sonic nodded, then stared out the window in thought. ' _And just to think, this whole thing started by a simple bank robbery. Now with a dimensional crisis on our hands..._ '

His thoughts were interupted as a loud crash resounded from outside...

**_11:58 A.M.  
>Nearby Valley near Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

The small pod crashed on the ground. Silence resounded for a few seconds after the impact before the small cabbit boy crawled out of the pod. "Hey, kid!" A voice called. The boy looked up to see a teen blue hedgehog wearing a red jacket running over to him. "You ok?"

"So, you're not from here?" The blue hedgehog said, talking to the black and white cabbit boy when he brought him back to the workshop.

He nodded. "I'm Klonoa.. Last I remember I was flung into some sort of cell by someone named Eggman..."

Sonic gritted his teeth. _'So, Eggman decided to try and imprison one of us... the nerve of it..' _

"I'm normally known as the dream traveler, being summoned to worlds in order to save them. I wasn't expecting to be thrown into the brink of it."

"Well, you're safe with us now," Shantae said, sitting down on a stack of tires. "We're already planning on taking down all of them, so you're in good hands."

"The dimensional portal device is almost ready," Tails said. "Just a few more minutes, and it'll be ready."

"Ok, thanks sweetie!" Shantae called. "Anyways,..."

"The sooner we can resolve this, the better." Terra said. "Kefka is an utter maniac. If he wins, there's no world that will be safe."

Sonic nodded. "If we can just find the other Chaos Emeralds..."

"Oh, that reminds me," Klonoa said. "Before I escaped, I overheard something about an invasion on someplace known as Sequin Land or something..."

At hearing this, Shantae's expression turned to that of one of shock. "They're invading my home already?!"

"Tails, is that thing ready yet?!" Sonic called.

* * *

><p>Uh oh, looks like the crap hit the fan on this one. Klonoa barely managed to escape the Death Egg, and now the crew is pressed for time as Eggman has Risky invading Sequin Island already. Is Tails going to be able to build the device before it's too late? Could this be the first time our heroes fail to protect a world? Tune in for the next exciting installment of Dimensional Chaos!<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: Bound within Dimensions

**_1:30 P.M.  
>Onett, Eagleland<em>**

A cool breeze rand across the young boy's skin as he rested under a tree on Onett Hill. A red cap rested over his eyes, covering up his black hair. He wore a blue and yellow striped shirt and jean shorts, along with a dusty pair of shoes. A baseball bat and a backpack rested at his side. This young boy was known as Ness.

It had been at least two months since he and his friends, Paula, a young girl that he had saved from a kidnapping from an insane cult, Jeff, a student from the Winters academy that had ended up crashing the Sky Runner where he and Paula were trapped, and Pu, a prince from Dalaam that had come to their aide, defeated Giygas and saved their world from being consumed.

_'Man, wonder how the others are...' _He thought to himself. _'I hope Paula's doing ok...' _

"Hey, Ness!" A voice called. Ness looked over to see a girl his age, wearing a long sleeved pink dress with a large red bow around her waist, untied shoes and a raindrop-shaped pendant, and a large red bow with red ribbons in her golden hair, running up the hill.

_'Heh, speak of the devil...' _Ness thought. "Hey Paula!" He called. "Long time no see!"

"I could say the same to you," Paula said. "But c'mon!" She said, pulling Ness up. "I just got a all from Jeff. We gotta get to Winters!"

"Why, what's going on?" Ness asked, getting up.

"Jeff couldn't fill me in on all the details. But he said Pu's already there, he's just waiting on us."

Ness nodded. "Ok, let's go!" He said. Ness grabbed Paula and ran down the mountain. "PK Teleport!" He yelled, and soon him and Paula were launched through the air to Winters...

**_1:45 P.M.  
>Winters Academy, Northern Eagleland<em>**

A quick flash and a large amount of snow was kicked up into the air, settling later to reveal the teen figures of Ness and Paula.

"Well, here we are," Ness said, looking up at the large school building in front of him. "This IS the academy, right?" He asked Paula.

Paula nodded, shivering slightly. "Let's get inside. I'm freezing..." Ness nodded, then went inside the building.

"So, where'd Jeff say to meet us again?" Ness asked, looking down the long corridors of the academy. "Wasn't it something about a science wing or something?"

Paula nodded, taking out the directions from her backpack and looking over them again. "West side of the academy, lab is room number 2098." She said, double checking the directions to make sure.

"Ok, let's go, don't want to keep them waiting, right?" Ness said, taking down the hall to the west wing.

"Ness!" Paula called, chasing after him. "Wait for me! Oooh, he can be so impatient sometimes..."

-  
><strong><em>1:50<br>Winters Academy Science Wing, Northern Eagleland_**

"Where are they?!" A boy said impatiently, pacing back and forth, pushing the glasses on his face back up to the bridge of his nose. He wore a green jacket with a white buttoned shirt and a green bowtie, and green pants and brown shoes. "They were supposed to be here almost fifteen minutes ago!"

"I suggest relaxing, Jeff." A voice said from another kid in a meditative pose, wearing white robes with a tattered black sash around his waist. His black hair was tied off into a single tail at the back of his head. A sword laid at his side. "They will be here soon."

Just as he finished his sentence, Ness and Paula burst through the door. "Sorry!" Ness said, panting. "Couldn't get here sooner."

"Don't run off like that Ness," Paula said, winded. "Let's just hear what Jeff has to say."

"Yes, now if you all follow me to the table please," Jeff said, having the others follow him to the lab table.

"So, why are we here?" Ness asked, leaning up against the table, a curious look on his face.

"Let me get to that." Jeff said, slightly annoyed. He pulled out his laptop and started typing up something on it. "Recently I was contacted by someone of my same or higher intellectual level, saying that he is reaching out to others that need help to protect worlds. I've got the recording right here." Jeff started playing the recording.

_"Anyone, anyone listening to this recording, I'm reaching out for your help now!" _A voice said from the recording. _"Our worlds are starting to collide and our villains are teaming up to take us out. We need as much help as possible, otherwise our worlds are going to be completely controlled by our villains!" _The recording then fizzled out.

Jeff stopped the recording. "I just received that recording just a few hours ago. Pu came as soon as I contacted him."

"Ho boy, here we go again..." Ness shook his head. "So, they're saying that somehow, even though we already destroyed that... THING... Giygas managed to escape to another dimension?"

Jeff nodded his head. "It could possibly be Giygas, but it might be another unsettling force that we know."

Ness's eyes widened. "No... it can't be.."

Paula's expression changed to expression of worry. "He's still alive?" She asked, a hint of fear in her tone.

Jeff nodded. "Unfortunately, yes." He said. "I think Porky's still trying to get back at us."

Ness crossed his arms. "I knew I should have ended him while I had the chance..."

"Well, there's no crying over spilled milk," Paula said. "The only thing we can do now is try to get back to this person you came in contact with."

"Let's head out and get supplies." Ness said. "I've got a feeling about this..."

The others nodded. Ness started running down the school hallways, the others following, preping for a PK Teleport. But at that moment, a dimensional hole opened up in the middle of the hallway, unavoidable for Ness and his friends, as they flew straight into it, the portal closing behind them...

**_12:00  
>Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"Look, Sonic, it's not complete yet!" Tails said, blocking the keypad to the device, resembling a giant laser gun. "You set this thing off now, there's a high probability this thing could implode!"

"Look, it's now or never!" Sonic said, trying to get past Tails. "You built this, how do you know its not ready?!"

"Because I need help with it!" Tails argued, not letting Sonic pass. "This thing would be finished faster if I had some help!"

"Then why won't you let one of us help?" Sonic said, crossing his arms.

"Someone with my IQ or higher can help finish this!" Tails argued.

"So, what are we supposed to wait around for someone to come knocking on our front door?" Sonic retorted. "The sooner we get this thing done, the sooner we can stop Eggman!"

At that moment, a smash was heard against the hangar doors. Everyone looked over to see the hangar doors caving in, seeing four kids flung through, covered in soot, smashing the door with it.

"Oh my..." Shantae breathed, before rushing over to the group of four.

"Oh... and I had just finished repairing those doors last week!" Tails huffed, stamping his foot on the ground.

"They're unconscious, but they're still alive." Shantae said, helping up the boy with the cap. At that moment he began to stir, and everyone watched him...

"U-ugh.." He stuttered, rubbing his head in pain. "What happened?"

"Are you ok?" Shantae asked, helping the boy up. He nodded.

"Yeah... I think so..."

-  
>"So, you're from Eagleland?" Terra asked as she helped the boy to a seat on a stack of wood. He nodded.<p>

"Yeah, I'm Ness." The boy said. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting to get thrown into hangar doors..."

"Heh, I don't think any of your friends were, either," Sonic said, motioning a thumb to the others. "but hey, you're not the only one experiencing this."

Shantae nodded. "Most of us are from different worlds as well. It's our enemies that are causing this."

"Yeah, kinda guessed that when I saw human-like animals and... other things." Ness said, shaking his head.

"Heh, though its probably a good thing your brainiac friend showed up," Sonic said, motioning over to where Tails and Jeff were working on the portal turret.

"Yeah, guess so..." Ness said rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, wow!" He said, getting up and running over to a red biplane parked in the hangar. "This thing looks cool!"

"Heh, you like it?" Sonic said. "That's actually my plane. It's the Tornado."

"Man, this thing looks so sleek..." Ness said, examining the plane. "Hey, what this jet thruster for?"

"Oh, that?" Sonic said. "That's from a while back. Tails had to modify the plane for taking off after Eggman. In fact," he recollected. "That was the adventure when we first met."

"Wow,..." Shantae breathed. "How long ago ws that?"

"Oh, its been YEARS since that happened." Sonic said. "In fact, I think Tails knows even more about it than-"

"Its ready!" Tails called. "Coordinates are set. Activating..."

The turret's point started glowing a bright green glow before firing off, ripping a hole open in the fabric of space.

"Alright, we're golden!" Tails said, heading over to the Tornado. "Sonic, Shantae, this is both your shows!"

"Alright!" Sonic said, leaping onto the wing. "C'mon Shantae!"

"Right..." She daid getting into the passenger's seat. "Your sure he's gonna be ok there?" She wispered into Tails ear.

"Trust me, he's ridden there PLENTY of times." Tails answered, starting the plane up. The engine roared to life as the propellor roared to life pulling the plane out onto the runway.

Sonic waved back to the others and yelled, "Wish us luck!"

"Next stop, Sequin Island!" Tails said, putting on his goggles. With that, the plane launched, sending the intrepid trio into another dimension...

* * *

><p>Well, looks like the dimensional intermingling has begun! Sonic and Shantae are headed off for Sequin Island, but what damage has Risky done in that time? What about the rest of the villains? And just what is Eggman's intentions for each world? Tune in next time!<p> 


	6. Chapter 5: Destination: Sequin Island!

**_9:30 P.M.  
>Airspace over Sequin Island<em>**

It was a late hour of night as the people of the town dimmed their lights. The cool ocean breeze swept through the town before the last of the lights were extinguished. But tonight wasn't anything ordinary...

High above the town, a dimensional portal ripped open in the dark starry skies as a red biplane was ejected from the portal at a high altitude.

"Jeez Tails!" Sonic said, barely hanging onto the wing. "Keep the plane level next time!"

"Look, it was just a bit of turbulence!" He said. "You can't expect a flight through a dimensional portal to be the smoothest thing possible!"

"Maybe because none of us never went through dimensional wormholes, have we?" Sonic retorted. "Just find us a landing strip!"

"Uh..." Shantae stuttered, looking over the island. "Now might not be the best time to tell you the island has no airstrips, right?"

"Wait, there's no landing strip?!" Tails yelled.

"Ah, great, this is gonna be a repeat of the Egg Carrier again!" Sonic said.

Tails tried to guide the plane, looking for a landing spot, but the only thing that would work was what looked like a main street through a town.

"All right, hang on!" Tails said, putting the Tornado into a nosedive. Sonic had to grab for dear life onto the wing, and Shantae was screaming the whole way down.

At the last second, Tails pulled up on the steering wheel and landed the plane out evenly on the main road of the town. Both Sonic and Shantae were out of breath from pure terror.

"Never... do that... AGAIN." Shantae gritted through her teeth as she got out of the Tornado. "Almost thought you were taking us on a suicide route."

"So, this is the place?" Sonic asked, hopping off the wing while Tails got out of the cockpit.

"Yep," Shantae nodded. "Welcome to my home town here, Scuttle town.

"It must be really late here." Tails said, motioning to the darkened homes on either side of the street. "No one's even up."

Sonic shook his head. "Man, this is gonna bring the term 'jet lag' to a whole new meaning..."

**_9:33 P.M.  
>Scuttle Town, Sequin Island<em>**

"Man, it's gotta be late.." Shantae said, looking at the darkened homes. "No one's even awake..."

"Heh, people around here must be tone deaf or somethin'" Sonic said sarcastically, while Shantae rolled her eyes at this remark. "Have a plane land in the town square, no reaction whatsoever."

"Well, the night is still young," Tails said, judging the time from the moon's position in the sky. "We can probably still catch some rest now before morning."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sonic said. "Now where are we gonna stay..."

"You guys can stay at my place," Shantae said. "It's just nearby. C'mon."

"So, this is where you live?" Sonic said, looking up at the old lighthouse. He wasn't exactly sure that this was where someone like Shantae would be living...

"Yep," She said. "Go on in, make yourself at home."

Sonic shrugged, then headed inside. "Not a bad place, I must say." Sonic said, hopping up onto one of the hammocks on the wall. "So, tell us a little bit about yourself,"

"Well, let's see," Shantae started, taking off her golden rings and her golden haircuff, letting her hair fall naturally. She set the rings and haircuff on a dresser nearby. "I was apparently destined by birth to end up as the Guardian Genie of this small fishing port town. But, as you probably heard from Risky, I'm only half-genie, so while I am able to use small bursts of magic, I can't really handle anything large-scale magic or stuff to that degree."

"Interesting..." Sonic said. "Go on."

I was found abandoned outside Scuttle Town when I was very young." She said, taking off her vest and hanging it up on a coat rack. "A kind old man with a knack for technology and expeditions had found me and took me under his wing. He's known by most of the townsfolk as Mimic."

"So, you know him?" Sonic asked, kicking back and relaxing.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Shantae said. "He's my uncle. Well... technically not by blood relations, I'm just more of his adopted niece."

"I see," Tails said. "Interesting history you have there."

"Yeah," Shantae shrugged. "That's just how it's been." She yawned. "I'm gonna hit the rack. Night guys."

"Ok, g'night." Sonic said, getting cozy as Shantae went to the second floor, her room.

Shantae sat in her bed as she looked out the window at the ocean nightscape. It had already been a long day enough, even without the dimensional interference. Now every world was in danger and she was in the thick of it all...

She sighed. '_Now all this is happening..._' She thought to herself. '_Well, better get some sleep.._' She took another look out the window of her room. A small whale crested in front of the moon, and the sight made her smile a bit before she tucked in for the night. The thoughts of her day quickly vanished as she descended into sleep...

"Hmmm, just as I figured..." the female piratess said looking through a pair of binoculars one of her Tinkerbats supplied. "They're here."

**_11:57 P.M.  
>Death Egg, Outer Mobian Atmosphere<em>**

"I don't care how many troops are in storage, get them fired up and ready for invasion!" Eggman said, slamming his fists onto the control panel. The small sentry bot nodded quickly then scurried out of the room.

The doctor seemed to pinch his forehead in stress. "Five months to get this plan into full gear and NOW more villians are in on this idea?" He muttered through gritted teeth, before sighing. "May as well get the formalities out of the way already..." He typed in a few keys on the interface and brought up the communications channels, before selecting two from the list.

Upon the screen appeared two seperate windows, communicating from different dimensions. In one window, it was a figure that looked like a humanesqe pig stuffed into a red and black pinstripe suit, with a slightly blue-tinted skin and pale yellow matted hair, blocking his eyes. Behind him was a large container with a red swirling gaseous substance inside. The other screen was tinted dark, and nothing was visible through it.

Eggman first turned his attention to the visible screen. "Now then,, Mr... Minch, is that right? Porky Minch?" The figure nodded. "Alright then, now on to the subject of your intrest of joining for the benefit of your Pigmask Army."

"Yes, exactly," The figure replied. "Master Giygas' plans were ruined after the four brats that followed me destroyed him. My intentions is to make them suffer for what they did, along with the rest of humanity as well." He said, grinning maliciously. "My offer is simple; let me assist you in crushing the fools, you get a share in the land from each world enslaved."

A large grin appeared on the doctor's face. "Well then," He chuckled. "I believe we have a deal." Porky nodded. "I will mobolise out the Pigmask Army to your dimension for repairs and training." He said. "Master Giygas should be pleased..."

A beeping came from Eggman's communications console, and the doctor groaned. He was in the middle of expanding his alliance, who could be contacting him NOW?

"One second..." He said through gritted teeth, before bringing up a third channel, showing Risky Boots.

"Dangit Risky, NOW what?" He said. "You've already interupted me once, so this better be important!"

"Oh, what you think I'd call you 'cause I get bored?" She huffed. "At least I'm getting in on the action." She said.

"Just spit it out; Why are you contacting me?" He said, clearly annoyed.

"Just a news update." She said. "We've got a potential location for the gem. It appears to be located somewhere in Baron Desert on the island. My Tinkerbats, along with some of your mechs, are already scouting out the entire thing. Also," She added. "looks like Half-genie and her pin-cushion friend have already made it here."

"You stop them at all costs!" Eggman said. "This plan can't fail unless they try to directly interfere!"

Risky flashed a salute and winked. "You can count on me, Doc." She said. "End transmission." And then her screen closed. With Risky done communicating, Eggman turned his attention back to the other two. "Now," He said, "Where were we..."

**_7:35 A.M.  
>Outer Waters, Sequin Island<em>**

Risky grinned as the screen shut off. "Alright, boys!" She said, turning her attention to her Tinkerbats. "I want these cannons locked and loaded, on the double!" She ordered. The small shadowy figures began scampering around the ship, loading the cannons. "Let's move it, people, we're on a schedule here!" She then turned her attention to the lighthouse at the end of the bay.

"Well then, how about a little wakeup call?" Risky giggled. "All cannons! Take aim!" She yelled, drawing her sword the lighthouse. "and open fire!"


	7. Chapter 6: The Emerald Hunt Begins!

**_7:40 A.M.  
>Lighthouse Bay, Sequin Island<em>**

The serenity of the morning calm was shortly interrupted as a cannonball smashed into the side of the rock face near the lighthouse. Shantae screamed as she fell out of bed, waking Sonic and Tails up.

"What time is it..." Tails said, rubbing his eyes, before more cannonballs struck the cliffside.

"Well, that's one heck of a wakeup call!" Sonic said as he dashed outside to see the ship that was firing at them. Shantae soon followed, still in her jam-jams from the abrupt awakening.

"Risky!" Shantae yelled.

"Well, how about that for a wakeup call, eh?" Risky called from her ship. "Better back down now, or there's more where that came from!"

"Fat chance, lady!" Sonic called.

"Well," she said, steering the ship away. "Don't say I didn't warn you! Keep firing men!"

The Tinkerbats kept loading cannonballs into the cannons. Risky stared onward at her target, a dark smirk appearing on her face. "Make sure there's nothing left of that little 'interference'." She said darkly.

"Sonic, what are we gonna do?" Shantae asked, a hint of concern and worry in her tone. "She's got enough firepower to level the entire town!"

"Don't worry," Sonic said, flashing her a smirk. "I've got this."

As he finished his sentence, another cannonball was launched from the ship. Sonic, seeing the cannon shot almost immediately, rushed towars the oncoming cannonball. With a split-second reaction and a swift kick, Sonic launched the shot back at the ship. the large metal orb collided with one of the cannons, causing a chain reaction of explosions across the ship.

When the smoke cleared, a soot-covered Risky Boots stood on deck, gritting her teeth in anger. "This isn't over, you little pin cushion!" She yelled, stabbing her sword into the deck of the ship. "You'll regret the next time we meet. You'll wish you were my slaves!"

And with that, the ship moved away to another part of the island.

"Well, that takes care of that issue." Sonic commented, dusting off his jacket. "But it looks like she's still searching for the emerald."

"We'll go see Mimic," Shantae said. "He's gotta know something about the emerald somehow."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sonic said. "But maybe you should change into a more, uhh..., 'appropriate' attire?"

Shantae looked at herself and realized what Sonic meant. Her hair was an ungodly mess and she was still only wearing her pajamas from Risky's attack. She blushed and rubbed the back of her head, clearly embarrassed at her unruly appearance. "I'll go get changed."

"You almost ready Shantae?" Tails asked.

"Almost sweetie," Shantae replied. Soon, she came down the stairs to her room, wearing her normal crimson bedlah and golden rings around her wrists. "All right, we ready?" She asked, grabbing her vest of the coat rack.

"Should be." Sonic said, hopping down from the hammock. "Let's go see Mimic."

"So, this is the town?" Sonic asked as he looked around. It wasn't the sprawling metropolis that was Hexaeco City back on Mobius, but it was decent at least. The various Arabian styled buildings usually stretched about a floor or two high, along with various awnings and stands adjouning the sides of the dusty road.

Shantae nodded. "This is my home town." She said, looking down the main street. "It's a town still in development, but it's growing."

"So, who's this old man we need to see again?" Sonic asked as they walked through the town. Vendors and shopkeepers were calling out to the other people roaming the streets.

"He's my uncle, Sonic," Shantae said. "His workshop should be around here.. there it is!" She said, pointing at a moderate-sized building. Sprouting around the building was machinery and such, with a large telescope on top.

"Heh, kinda reminds me of my workshop a bit." Tails remarked.

"I know the place looks a bit messy," She said, walking up to it. "But Mimic's got a kind heart. Trust me." She then opened the door and went inside, Sonic and Tails following close.

"Uncle Mimic?" Shantae called inside. The room had several scrap pieces of metal lying around, and several intresting trinkets and such on the walls. The old man was at a workbench working on a piece of equipment.

"Hm?" The old man said as he pushed up the welding mask out of his face. "Ah, Shantae! I was wondering when you would get back after Risky took off." He said. He then noticed Sonic and Tails standing by her. "Friends of yours, I assume?"

Shantae nodded. "Ran into them after chasing Risky. Uncle, we've got a crisis on our hands.."

"What do you mean they are already here?!" Eggman's voice shouted over the message board. "We can't be having them attacking us in other dimensions now!"

"Cool it Egghead." Risky snarkily said. "We've already got locations on what emeralds might be here. My Tinkerbats 'll be able to intercept 'em on the way out. And in the event it doesn't..." She grinned maliciously. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve..."

"Well see to it that you stop them!" Eggman said angrily. "I'm already in negotiations with two other masterminds, and the last thing I need is more wrenches thrown into my plan!" He turned, then said, "And make sure you look decent when you meet them. I don't think they'd appreciate meeting someone covered in soot!"

"I see.." Mimic said, stroking his beard. "So, the dimensions are corrupting already.."

Tails nodded. "And if we don't act now, all our villains from different worlds will take over."

"If there's anything you can do to help us, Uncle," Shantae asked.

"Well, I can start by helping you three find those gems." He said, walking over to a large computer. "We've recently had a meteor shower around here. Chances are one of the meteors that landed on the island is the emerald you're looking for." He said. "Shantae, you should meet with Sky in Oasis City in Baron Desert. Chances are the emerald is nearby."

Shantae nodded. "Thanks Uncle." She said, hugging the old man. "C'mon guys, let's get moving before Risky finds out.."

"So, where's Oasis City again?" Sonic asked as he ran straight up a rock face of the Naga Wastelands. "Something about a desert?"

Shantae nodded as she lept from an intertwining branch in the rock face. "Just past these cliffs is the Bron Desert. Oasis City is just in the middle of the desert."

"Well, at any rate," Tails said, flying up to the clifside perch. "we better keep moving. The more time we waste,"

"The sooner Risky finds one of the Emeralds." Shantae finished his sentence. "Let's go."

A dashing of dust flew up as the blue blur, with Shantae on his back and Tails following close behind, raced across the desert.

"It shouldn't be much farther," Shantae said, shielding her eyes from the dust being kicked up. "Just a little further."

"Hopefully," Sonic said. "There's too much sand!"

"Sonic!" Tails called. Sonic's ears picked up the faintest sound of jet engine thrust. Soon several cannonballs struck the sand dunes next to him and Shantae. He looked back to see the a large pirate ship fly straight over them, then turn to face them. Piloting the ship was none other than the pirate captainess herself, Risky.

"So, trying to get to the jewel first, are you?" Risky said from the front of the ship. "Good luck trying to get past me first!"

"Oh, yeah?" Sonic yelled. "Bring it, blueskin!"

Risky stamped her foot on the deck of the ship. "Oh, have a rather sour tongue today, do we?" She growled through gritted teeth. "Well, let's see how you like this!" She yelled. "Boys! Throw the Tinkertub into overdrive! Let's show them who they're really messing with!"

Tinkerbats started scurrying across the deck, loading the cannons. A devilish grin appeared on Risky's face. "Now you'll see why I'm the queen of the seas! Tinkerbats, open fire!"

* * *

><p>Uh-oh. Looks like Risky managed to catch up to the heroes after her cannon firing incident at Lighthouse Vista. What does she have planned with her Tinkertub ? Could this spell disaster for our heroes? Find out next chapter!<p> 


	8. Chapter 7: Tinkertub MkIII: Revengance

Cannonballs whizzed by and struck the desert floor, blasting large amounts of sand into the air. Sonic, unfazed, quickly dashed through the sandblasts and closed in on the ship.

"Don't let 'em get near the ship boys!" Risky yelled. "Activate the secret weapon!"

One of the Tinkerbats nodded and scurried back deck to a wall of levers. He appeared extremely confused, the grabbed a lever and pulled it.

At that point, the large jaw of the ship dropped open, and a large wooden barrel fell into place and was held there. "No, you idiot!" Risky cried. "Wrong lever!"

"Sonic, get me close!" Shantae said.

"Are you crazy?!" Sonic yelled. "We'll get trashed!"

"Just trust me! I know what I'm doing!" She said. "Otherwise we won't get anywhere!" Sonic hesitantly nodded before gunning it for the barrel.

"What do you mean it's jammed?!" Risky yelled at one of her Tinkerbats. She was so distracted with yelling at her Tinkerbats she didn't notice Sonic and Shantae getting close.

"Only got one shot with this... hope this works..." Shantae thought, before whipping her hair forward at the barrel. The sharp collision of her hair with the barrel created sparks, which caused it to ignite. Sonic backed off just before the barrel exploded in the jaws of the mech.

"You see what your idiocy gets you? Now pull the right lever this time!" Risky yelled. A few seconds later a large cannon appeared in the jaws of the ship's hull. "Now!" Risky called, drawing her sword and pointing it at the two. "Open fire!"

"Sonic, watch out!" Shantae cried, pointing at the large cannon in front of them.

"Huh?" Was all Sonic said before the cannon fired a large, drill-like anchor at the two. "Whoa!" Sonic yelled as he dodged to the side, narrowly missing the anchor. But Shantae was not so lucky. The sharp anchor whizzed by her and grazed her arm, cutting into her skin. She let out a sharp cry of pain before gripping her arm where she was grazed. Searing pain shot up her arm as the crimson liquid dripped down her arm.

"Shantae?!" Sonic cried, before seeing the red liquid seeping in between her fingers.

"I'll be fine," she said, wincing. "Let's just get Risky out of the way!"

"So, give up yet?" Risky taunted. "Just submit, and I can promise your demise will be swift and painless."

"Like I'll ever submit to you, jerk!" Shantae yelled. "You've caused too much misery to the people of this island!"

"You had your choice," Risky grinned wickedly. "Tinkerbats, fire the weapon again! And don't miss this time!"

The jaw of the ship's hull opened again, and another barrel fell into lock. "I said the weapon, you dolt!"

"Man, her Tinkerbats are seriously incompetent this time around," Shantae remarked. Now, Sonic, get me close." Shantae asked again. Sonic shook his head. "I got it this time."

"What are you..." Shantae asked, before Sonic took off so fast she thought she was going to fly off. Tears formed in her eyes as Sonic's speed increased. _'Oh god, why?!'_ She thought to herself as she held on for dear life with one arm.

Sonic noticed a horde of Nagas up ahead. He smirked to himself as he activated his boost powers and blasted crashed into the horde of Nagas, sending them flying into barrel at high speed, causing it to explode.

"Stop pulling that lever!" Risky yelled, gritting her teeth. "Don't make me come back there! I will not hesitate to kill you along with them!"

Risky pressed a button on her cuff, and then two cannon-like weapons extruded from the sides of the ship. She smirked. "Let's see you try to dodge this!" She yelled. Then in an instant, two giant, super-heated lasers fired from the devices. The desert sands where the lasers hit fused to glass, and started closing in on Sonic and Shantae.

"Oh jeez," Sonic said. "Gotta move!" Then he dashed forward at the hull of the ship.

"She seriously wants us dead..." Shantae said to herself. "I guess she _is _going power-crazy.."

Sonic thumped the hull of the ship, and a liquid started leaking from the hull of the ship. An idea formed in Shantae's head.

"Sonic," she said. "Get her to fire her lasers at whatever that liquid!" Sonic nodded and backed off from the hull of the ship.

"Give up already!" Risky yelled. "Otherwise I'll make sure you're both extra crispy!"

Shantae stuck her tongue out a performed a raspberry. Risky's face turned red with anger. "Fire the lasers, and make sure they're both ashes when this is over!"

The lasers struck the desert floor again, and Sonic lured on of the lasers over the trail of liquid. The trail caught on fire and soon caught up and went up into the ship's hull, followed by a series of explosions and black smoke billowing from the hull of the ship.

"What?!" Risky yelled, stamping her foot. "Now the engines are failing!" She turned and glared coldly at the two. "Mark this you two, this is only the beginning." She said coldly. "Any more interference, this entire island meets a watery grave." Her ship then turned and took off away from the two.

"Yeah!" Shantae said, looking off in the direction of Risky's ship. "That'll teach you to mess with us, blueskin!"

"Man, I guess some of my personality is rubbing off on you eh?" Sonic said. Shantae blushed, then smiled. "I guess so." She replied.

"Well, that wasn't too hard." Sonic said, grinning cockily. "You ok Shantae?"

Shantae nodded. "It's only a cut. I'll be fine." She then pointed out near the edge of the desert. "That's Oasis City!"

"Well, we're on the right track!" Sonic said. "Let's go!"

The desert palms seemed to stretch into the sky as the heroes entered into Oasis City. Even though the hot sun still bore down on the trio like in the desert, the city was significantly cooler that the desert itself.

"Not bad," Sonic said, observing the city. "Shame it's gotta be out in the middle of the desert."

"Eh, it serves as a traveling waypoint for those passing through the desert." Shantae said, still holding her injured arm. "Sky's place should be around here somewhere.."

"First things first, let's get you fixed up." Tails said, taking a bandaging kit out of his backpack. "Can't have you walk around with an open would exposed to the desert."

"Look, I'll be fine" Shantae said.

"Shantae, just let me see the wound." Tails said. "The last thing we need is for you get sick out here."

Shantae sighed. "Fine.." She removed her hand from covering her wound. Tails took a closer look. "Good lord, Shantae, it's worse than you think." He said, bandaging the wound. "If that shot came any closer, it probably would have severed your arm." Shantae shuddered at the thought.

After a short wait, the gash where Shantae was hit on her arm was bandaged up. "Ok, so where's this Sky person you mentioned?"

"The hatchery for her war birds should be around here somewhere..." Shantae said, looking around the city. "That looks like it right there!" She pointed to a large building with a bunch of nests around it. "That's the hatchery!"

"Hey, Sky, you here?" Shantae called inside. The inside was filled with the incessant chattering of birds, some even larger than Sonic or Tails.

Inside stood a girl about the same age as Shantae, wearing long, skintight white pants, and long brown boots. Around her waist and chest was a dark lavender tubetop, bound together in the front by satin cord. Most of her golden hair was covered up by a cyan bandana, along with a dark lavender hood and cape, aside from long sideburn locks and two large bangs in the front of her head and wore cyan and lavender egg-shaped on her wrist, protected by a leather glove, was a lavender falcon with blue wings.

"Oh, hey Shantae!" She said, turning to the three. "Been a while since you came out here. Give me a visit every now and then, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll see to that later." Shantae said, rubbing the back of her head.

"What happened to you anyways?" She asked. You look like you got in a fight with about ten Nagas or so."

"Make that one blue one. Piloting a giant flying ship." Sonic said. "Sonic's the name, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Sky said. "So, my guess is Risky's back in buisness?"

Shantae nodded. "And if we don't find the Chaos Emerald, things could get disastrous."

"Chaos Emeralds?" Sky asked, looking confused. "First time I've heard of those here.. What are they?"

"Let me explain," Tails stepped in.

"So, Risky's using these for world domination?" Sky asked after Tails finished explaining.

Sonic nodded. "If we don't find those Chaos Emeralds, every single one of our worlds is done for."

"Well, that meteor shower had some meteors striking the desert." Sky said. "In fact, I think one struck the Golem Mine just this recent shower."

"Chances are, that's where the Emerald is." Sonic said. "We've got no time to lose. Let's get moving."

"I'm coming with you." Sky said. "After all, who said I couldn't join in on the fun?"

"Sky.." Shantae said.

"C'mon, let's go!" Sonic said. And thus, the four took off into the desert for the Golem Mine...


	9. Chapter 8: Showdown at the Mine

"That's the mine, right there!" Shantae said from Sonic's back as the four raced through the desert. She pointed to a large carved rock formation.

The four stopped in the front of the entrance to the mine. "No one's been in this mine for over thirty years. At least from what I heard.." Sky said. "It was abandoned long ago after a mining incident, and no one has gone back in since."

"Well, look," Sonic said. "The emerald's gotta be in there somewhere. We find it, or blueskin does."

Shantae nodded. "We don't have much time. Let's find that gem."

At a far distance, a certain piratess watched the four enter through a pair of binoculars. She smirked. "Well," she said to herself. "we'll see who gets the prize first..."

The inside of the mine proved to be dark and dank, aside from the glow of the torches on the walls. The four heroes wandered inside.

"Doesn't look like Risky's broken in yet." Sky said. "We might have a chance to find that emerald before she does."

Sonic nodded. "How deep does this place go?"

Shantae shrugged. "Dunno, haven't been in here since Risky's first attack on the island."

"Well, looks like we have only one way to go." Tails said, typing something into his tracker. "Looks like this place goes pretty deep."

"Well, that won't be much of a problem," Sonic said cockily. "Let's move."

The four seemed to walk a bit further into the mine until they came across another entrance, looking torn down.

"That... that wasn't open when I was here last time." Shantae said. "Did it break open when the meteor shard, or emerald, landed here?"

"Possibly," Tails said, "Looks like the energy is coming from down that path. It looks like our only option at this point."

Sonic nodded, then the four headed inside. A lone path with two joint minecarts connected.

"Well, you know what this means." Sonic said getting in the front cart.

"You're kidding. Seriously?" Sky asked, getting into the back cart. "You know this seems like a bad idea in the first place. Why are we doing this?"

"Well, hey, I don't see you offering any ideas to get down there!" Sonic said.

"Let's just get the emerald." Shantae said, getting into the front cart with Sonic, while Tails got in the back cart with Sky. Sonic reached for the nearby lever and pulled it, and soon the two carts were jettisoned down the track, the two girls screaming as the carts vanished into the darkness of the mine...

**7:30 P.M.  
>Golem Mine, Baron Desert<strong>

The screams of the girls reverberated throughout the dank caves as the minecarts came to a crashing halt, as the four were ejected from their carts into a large door.

"Oww..." Shantae said as she held her forehead in pain. "We are never doing that again.."

"Aw, come on!" Sonic said, hopping up. "You gotta have a sense of adventure every once in a while. Sky shot him a glare. "If it gets me killed, no thanks." She said.

"Note taken." Tails said, getting up. "Looks like this is where the emerald landed." He said, examining the door. Doesn't look like we can get in though..."

"No problem," Sonic said, stepping back. "Watch this!" He soon curled into a ball and rocketed into the door at high speed, only to be bounced back, landing flat on his back on the floor.

"Sonic, " Tails said, helping him up. "That door is heavily reinforced. We're not getting through that easily."

"And I suppose you know how to get through that door easily?" Sonic said.

"Maybe this would help," Sky said. "Wrench do your thing!" The bird nodded and flew up to where one of the bolts was holding the door to the wall. It wrapped it's beak around the bolt and started turning it loose like a wrench.

"I suggest we all step back." Sky said. The other three nodded and got back from the door.

A few seconds later, the door fell in, opening the room up. Light seemed to filter down from the ceiling through a hole. In the center of the room rested a lavender shaded diamond, resting on a pile of rocks.

"There's the emerald!" Shantae said, running up and grabbing it. "We're one step closer to stopping their plans!"

Sonic nodded. "Now' let's get out of here bef-"

"Before I show up?" A voice said. "Bit too late for that." Everyone whirred around to see the infamous piratess lowering down into the room by anchor, a devilish grin on her face.

"Now, I suggest you hand over the gem before your graves are this room..." She said, pointing her sword at Shantae.

"R-Risky!" Shantae stuttered. "How'd you find us?!"

"Heh, quite simple, actually," the piratess said, pulling out an odd-looking handheld device. "Thanks to that scientist supplying me with a handy radar, finding all of you was extremely simple."

"Like that means you're getting the emerald!" Sonic said, getting into a defensive position.

"Heh, like you're gonna stop me!" Risky said, leaping down into the room. "I've already gotten more powerful since our last encounter, so go ahead, entertain me!" She pointed her sword at the group, grinning devilishly.

Sonic prepared to fight Risky, but then Shantae put her arm in front of him.

"Shantae!" Sonic said. "What are you doing?!"

She shook her head. "I'll deal with Risky." She said. "You guys get out of her while I hold her off."

"Shantae..."

"The last thing I want to do is lose you guys!" She said, placing the emerald in Tails' hands. "It's better if you guys get out of here without me!"

Sky nodded. "C'mon guys, let's go." She said, starting out of the mine. Tails followed her. Sonic started to follow, but then stopped and looked back to Shantae.

"I'll be ok, Sonic," She said, winking. "I promise." Sonic then nodded and followed the others.

Shantae turned back to Risky. "So then, I guess we settle this like old rivals, eh?" She said, clenching her fists. "It's time we've settled this for good."

Risky nodded, drawing her sword. "Just know I'm not taking it easy on you.." She grinned.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Shantae yelled. And then the two dashed at eachother, boiling for a fight...

Risky slashed forward, attempting to cut Shantae in half. Shantae quickly dodged to the side, the sword mere inches from her stomach, before lashing her hair across Risky's face.

Risky flinched and stumbled back in pain before dashing straight at Shantae, slashing in front of her. The sword cut clean across her stomach. Shantae flinched in pain and stumbled backwards, tripping over the bit of rubble in the room, causing her to fall flat on her back. She rolled out of the way mere seconds before Risky tried to stab her through her chest.

"Hold still!" Risky said angrily.

"Not a chance!" Shantae said. "You've already caused enough suffering for this island from your previous raids alone. It's time we end this!"

Risky dashed forward at her and attempted cleave her right down the center of her body. Shantae dodged to the side before delivering a roundhouse kick right across Risky's face. Risky stumbled backwards as her hat fell off, holding her face in pain. "You little..." She growled.

"Give it up Risky." Shantae said. "It's over, you lost. You've already made everyone suffer on this island for long enough, especially my friends and family!"

"Just... shut up!" Risky growled.

"No!" Shantae yelled. "Do you know how much grief you put my friends through with your attacks? Do you know how heartbroken and betrayed Rotty felt after you deceived her into kidnapping Mimic? Do you?"

At that point, Risky's rage that built up during their fight could no longer be contained. She dashed forward and grabbed Shantae by the neck, pinning her against the wall of the room. "I said, shut up." She said coldly.

Shantae shook and struggled to try and break Risky's grasp, but that only tightened her grip around her neck. Fear started to set in her eyes, and she soon realized what Risky was doing. Risky was choking her out, making sure she wouldn't become a threat to her plans.

"I should have done this back at Twinkle Palace..." Risky growled, tightening her grip.

Shantae was losing air fast. She had to do something fast, or she would be more than dead. With the last of her air,she focused all of her strength into her legs and smashed Risky square in the chest, knocking her backwards onto her back. Shantae collapsed, gasping for air in deep, yet spastic gasps.

Risky stood back up. "You managed to find away to even cheat death..." She said, reaching for her hat. "Impressive..."

Shantae got back up and pulled out a small ball, pressing a button on it. She tossed it up in front of her, and soon three sharp spiked balls were orbiting around her. Risky frowned.

"PikeBalls?" She said, shaking her head. "Clearly you have a lot to learn," She pulled out her pistol and turned a small dial on the pistol before pointing it at Shantae, firing off an electrical beam.

The beam shocked the three PikeBalls, making them shake violently. Shantae gasped and ducked out of the way before the three orbs exploded, causing shrapnel to fly everywhere. As the smoke cleared, Risky looked around the room to see that the half-genie had disappeared.

"Where are you?!" Risky yelled, tightening the grip on her cutlass. "I know you're here, now show yourself!"

Risky didn't have a second to react before she felt sharp talons dig into her shoulders. She gritted her teeth in pain as she looked up to see a half-human, half-bird creature gripping onto her shoulders, smirking at her.

"Oh now that's just a jerk move..." She growled as Shantae flew up the shaft, dragging Risky along the side of it on the way up...

Sonic, Tails, and Sky made it back up to the entrance of the mine in a few minutes.

"Ok, that's one of the emeralds, are there any more here?" Sonic asked Tails, looking back into the mine where Shantae was waging battle with Risky.

Tails looked out at the scanner he had brought. "No... doesn't look like it," he said. "Looks like we've got the emerald."

"Ok," Sky nodded. "We should head back for Oasis City. Once we get back there, we might be a-" Sky was interupted as Shantae burst through the ground in her harpy form, carrying Risky by the shoulders, before flipping and smashing her into the desert floor.

Risky got back up, then hit a few buttons on a device on her wrist, calling her ship over to her location. She jumped up to her ship before turning to face the group of four.

"Hear this you four!" She said. "Any more interference with the Empire's motives, and I'll make sure this entire world will be drowned out!" She said, holding up the small glass vial that Eggman had given her. "I suggest you stop your interference and maybe I'll spare you to be my slaves when we conquer!" She motined to her Tinkerbats. "Fire up the engines, we're leaving." And soon the ship took off and headed for a different part of the island.

"Think you beat some sense into her this time?" Sky asked the bird creature in front of the three. The bird creature nodded. "Though I'm not sure, you know how persistent she is,"

"Whoawhoawhoa, hold the phone." Sonic said, crossing his arms and looking suspiciously at the bird creature. "Exactly how is this bird creature Shantae?"

The bird creature looked over herself and realized something. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to mention that." She said, with a simple twirl and small flash, she was transformed back into the half-genie girl.

"My half-genie heritage allows me to take advantage of various transformation dances that can allow me to change my appearance and abilities." She said. "Whatever species I become, I gain their abilities and their powers too."

"Definitely sounds interesting." Sonic said. "So, where to now?"

"Looks like Risky fled off in the direction of Tangle Forest," Shantae said. "The Closest civilization there is Water Village."

"My god, Shantae, what did she do to you?" Sky asked, looking at the grip marks that were around Shantae's neck.

Shantae shook her head. "Crazy pirate tried to choke me. I'll be fine though." She said. "Look, we really don't have time. We need to get to Water Village before she executes whatever plan she has."

"So, let's head there!" Sonic said, scooping Shantae onto his back and taking off.

Sky looked to Tails. "Is he always this overconfident?"

"Tails looked back. "Sky, understatement of the century..."

* * *

><p>AN: Looks like things are really getting tense now. Risky nearly tried to kill Shantae, and now she's ranting about drowning the world out... what IS in that vial Eggman gave her? Tune in next chapter to find out!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9: Reunion with an Old Friend

After blasting across the Lilac Fields, the four heroes arrived at Water Village, a small village resting near a couple of cliffs with waterfalls cascading down around the village itself. Beautiful fountains were dotted across the village, making the place a beautiful sight.

Of course, there was no time for our heroes to rest. With Risky still up and causing mayhem, they had to find out where she was going and what she was up to.

"Maybe Bolo might have insight on where she might be headed." Shantae said, leaning against a marble pillar. "We should go see him."

"You think he knows anything about that, Shantae?" Sky asked. "You know he goes head over heel for any attractive girl available."

"Look, we'll be fine," She said. "He helped me with training ever since the 'lamp incident' before I got my powers back. I'm sure we can trust him."

"I hope so," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "Whatever that vial Risky was holding was, it can't be good."

Tails nodded in agreement. "She said something about drowning out the landmass." He said. "So we need to hurry, and fast."

"Ah, Shantae!" Bolo said as the others found the main fountain. "Was wondering when you'd decide to pay a visit."

"Now's not the time for catch-up, Bolo," Shantae said. "We're got a power-hungry pirate captain on the loose, a-"

"Let me guess, Risky's on the loose around the island again, isn't she?" He said, smirking slightly.

Sky was stunned. "How did y-"

"Simple really," he said. "If you have a massive airship fly overhead a village at nearly 200 miles per hour, chances are, someone's gonna notice."

"Note taken.." Sky said, a drop of sweat running down the side of her head. "So, where'd she head off to?"

"Off in that direction," Bolo said, pointing off towards the depths of Tangle Forest's inner area, Zombie Swamp. "Chances are she's looking for something in there. And I wouldn't put it past her to bribe the Cadaver siblings again like last time."

"Well, we don't have much time, so we better get moving." Sonic said, soon taking off out of the town.

"He doesn't really wait, does he?" Sky said, looking to Tails. Tails shook his head. "Never a dull moment."

"Well, hey, how about I come along?" Bolo said. "Nothing like bashing a few skulls in a bit to help out."

Shantae nodded. "But promise you won't immediately try to go after Risky as soon as you see her."

Bolo smirked. "You got it."

"C'mon guys!" Sonic yelled. "This isn't a waiting competition, let's go!"

The others nodded, and soon the five were headed deep into Tangle Forest's zombie swamp...

"So, how far is this zombie-caravan thing?" Sonic asked as he lept from tree to tree, avoiding the marshy gunk water below them.

"Shouldn't be that far ahead. We're getting close." Shantae said, leaping from a branch to one of the mossy platforms sticking out of the swamp.

A sharp scent seemed to catch Sonic's nose. "Woo! I can smell it, that's for sure."

"Yeah, it gets a bit ripe back here." Sky said. "Get used to it, we're not leaving until we get the information we need."

"Well, better find out where Risky is headed." Tails said. He was so into talking to the rest of the group that he didn't notice the tree branch he flew into. Tails crashed into the branch and fell into the swamp muck below.

"Uchhh, this stuff is disgusting!" Tails whined. "I'm never gonna be able to get this stuff out of my fur!"

"Don't worry." Shantae said. "They've got a place there where you can clean up."

"I hope so..." Tails said, shuddering. "This smell is so rank..." He muttered to himself.

Soon the five came across the Zombie Caravan, a collection of carriages that normally travel throughout Sequin Island during the day, then settle in at night. As it constantly travels, it is never exactly definitive where it usually is around the island. One thing known for sure, the zombies there are rather hospitable, unlike myths of mindless brain-eaters people make them out to be.

"Well, let me tell you," Sonic whispered to Shantae. "This place has all kinds of creepy."

"They're friendly," Shantae whispered back. "Just relax."

"So... where can I get cleaned up?" Tails asked again. "Any longer I'm covered in this gunk, I'm more likely to get infected."

"Bolo and I will get you to the bath wagon." Sky said. "Shantae, you and Sonic find the Cadavers. Let's make sure Risky didn't try to bribe them again."

Shantae nodded. "We'll be on it, Sky." Sky nodded, before she and Bolo took Tails to get him cleaned up.

"So," Sonic asked, "Where exactly is the Cadaver's wagon?"

"Not exactly sure..." Shantae said. "But if memory serves me correct, it should be a caravan with a sign that says keep out. We should be able to find them there."

"So, that one?" Sonic asked, pointing at a caravan. Two torches were lit in front of the entrance, and a large skull rested over the door. A sign next to it in big red letters said 'KEEP OUT'.

"Yep, that'd be the one." Shantae said. "Let's go see her."

"Hey, Rotts, you there?" Shantae asked, knocking on the door to the caravan. No response.

"Rotty?" Shantae asked again, opening the door. A female zombie, about Shantae's age was sitting at a desk in the back of the caravan. Her dark pine-green hair complemented her lighter pale-green skin. Part of her hair was tied off into two short spiky pigtails. She wore a tattered lavender tank-top and dark blue jeans with one leg ripped and around her foot. Most noticeable was the scar across her right eye.

"Mh?" The zombie mumbled to herself before looking up."Oh... Hey Shantae..."

"C'mon Rotty," Shantae said. "You're not still upset over the bribing incident, are you?"

"You got that right." Rotty said. "I still don't think there's any way I can make up for that incident."

"Maybe there is, Rotty." Shantae said. "Risky's back on the loose again, and if we can't stop her, she along with a whole other league of villians are going to completely enslave our world."

"..." Rotty seemed to stay quiet.

"C'mon, Rotty, would you do it for me?" Shantae asked, putting her hands on Rotty's shoulders.

Rotty seemed to the break out of her depressive slump and smiled. She nodded. "I'm in!"

"Great. Let's get moving." Shantae said, turning to leave. Rotty then grabbed her shoulder.

"Hold on, girl." Rotty said. "I've got something for you that might be helpful. Wait for a second." Rotty then started digging through a chest in the caravan until she pulled out a small bottle. "Rub this in your hair. I got this from a travelling merchant. He said this has magical properties."

"Ok.." Shantae said, a bit uncertain. She took a bit of the cream-like lotion and rubbed it into her hair. "I don't notice anything different..."

"Oh, now that looks cool!" Rotty exclaimed. "Shantae, look at your hair!"

"Huh?" Shantae said, looking into a mirror on one of the walls. She was surprised to see the end of her hair form into a large hand!

"Whoa!" She gasped. "Now this could be useful! Thanks Rotty!" She said, hugging her zombie friend.

"It's nothing." She said. "Anything to make up for the incident."

Shantae nodded. "Ok, let's go." The two then left the caravan.

"So, everything sorted out?" Sonic asked as the two exited the caravan.

Shantae nodded. "Sonic, meet Rotty. Rotty, this is Sonic."

"Nice to meet you." Sonic said, sticking his hand out. "Name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Rottytops Cadaver. Rotty for short." Rotty said, shaking his hand.

"So, where to next?" Sonic asked. "We'll need to track down Risky."

"Well, we haven't found Risky anywhere here," Shantae said. "That means we only have one area left."

"Mount Needle?" Rotty asked. "So, that's where she's hiding out?"

Shantae nodded. "It's gotta be. She must be hiding out in Twinkle Palace."

"Well, we're gonna need to head out to find her." Sonic said. "Sky, Tails, and Bolo should check out where she could potentially be moving next."

Shantae nodded. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>AN: AFter a reunion with an old friend, the heroes, now split to complete their own tasks, close in on Risky to put her out of commission. But incidents within other worlds are happening just as unsettlingly. What else is going on?<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: The Looming Chaos

The snow fell heavily at the top of the mountain as a couple of shadowy figures. As the large one trudged through the snow, she pulled out an odd looking device and grinned.

"Well then," She grinned to herself. "It's time to set this plan into motion.. They may have the emerald, but that won't mean a thing when I extract it from their cold, drowned, lifeless bodies." She cackled to herself.

"Boys!" The figure said. "The palace should be just up ahead. Once this device is installed..." Her cackles slowly grew into psychotic laughter, as the group advanced on the palace...

"You guys see the palace yet?" Sonic yelled through the howling snow. Visibility was extremely limited from the snowstorm up in the mountains.

"Not yet!" Shantae yelled. "Hold on a sec!" Was all Sonic heard before a couple fireballs shot past and hit the ground beside him, lighting up the area.

"Jeez!" Sonic said. "Give me a warning next time around!"

"Sorry!" Shantae yelled. "We're close, just keep moving!"

Sonic nodded to himself, mainly because he couldn't see Shantae, then pressed on into the storm...

The group of three slumped into the entrance of the frosty Twinkle Palace, exhausted with the trek up the mountain. Rotty's heavy breathing show signs of the most fatigue in her, despite having a near dead body to begin with. Shantae's cheeks were flushed red from the cold, and she was about to pass out.

Sonic got up and looked further into the palace. Ice cold water dripped from the ceiling and icicles. He shuddered. "We're gonna need to move fast." He said, looking further into the icicle covered palace. "The longer Risky is out and about, the more likely she's gonna pull something ugly."

Shantae nodded. "I only hope that the others are getting in touch with the guys back at the workshop..."

Sonic nodded. "Let's go."

"This is Miles Prower, I repeat, this is Miles Prower." Tails said into the comm signal. "Oooh, come on Jeff, pick up already!" He slammed his fists onto the table. "Dangit, come on! Mimic, is there anyway you can boost the signal?"

"I'll see if I can." He said. "Sky, Bolo, give me a hand here."

"Miles Prower, I repeat, this is Miles Prower. Come in!" Tails stated again. More static came through the headphones before finally a clear voice came through.

"Tails, is that you?" A voice spoke over through the headphones.

"Jeff!" Tails said. "Finally, now I managed to get ahold of you!"

"Be clear here." Jeff said. "What's with the contact right now?"

"Just a status update," Tails said. "We've managed to get the emerald back from this world. Get the dimensional portal warmed up. We'll be coming back soon."

"I'll get right on it!" Jeff said, before cutting out on the transmission.

"Ok guys, got the message through!" Tails said, taking off his headphones. "Now all we need to rest on is making sure Sonic and Shantae can hold up their end of the plan..."

"Make sure that heat exorter is running on full power!" Risky said. "Once the snow on this mountain is melted enough, Phase Two can commence."

The Tinkerbats were pressing all buttons and the machine, making the machine put off more heat by the second. A sharp, almost satanic grin appeared on Risky's face at the thought of drowning out the heroes and retrieving the emerald for herself. Speaking of said heroes...

"Risky!" Shantae yelled as the three reached the bottom of the temple.

"Well well," The piratess said. "You're too late. Already the device the doctor supplied me is generating enough heat to melt all this snow, and then," She said, holding up the vial. "no one will be able to stop me." Her laughter slowly turned more and more evil by the second.

"Y-you're crazy!" Rotty said. "You can't be possibly destroying this world!"

"Watch me!" Risky said. "There's already enough water on this world to drown it out, but this will just increase the power of what is contained within this vial!" At that point an anchor crashed through the ceiling of the room, and Risky stepped on. "Enjoy your last breaths, fools!" She cackled as the anchor raised up through the hole in the cieling.

"I got this!" Sonic said, before spinning and slashing through the entire machine, blowing it to pieces.

"Guess the doctor didn't make it hedgehog proof!" Rotty said.

"Guess so." Sonic said. "But I don't think Risky's messing around at all now."

Shantae nodded. "She's still ranting about drowning out the world. What does she mean?"

At that point, a beeping noise came from Sonic's communicator watch. Sonic clicked a button on it, and Tails panicked voice came over on the transmission.

"Sonic!" Tails said, panicked. "We've got a massive storm brewing out here at the town! What's going on there?!"

"We'll be on our way back Tails!" Sonic said. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

The rain poured as the storm started to settle in. A grim, evil, twisted smile appeared on her face, made even more threatening by the lightning strikes. She held the vial up, a cackle forming in her throat.

"I'll show you all what true evil and suffering looks like! All of you! This is what true Chaos looks like!" And with that, she crushed the vial in her hand, casting the liquid within into the ocean...

The trio of heroes that had went up to the Twinkle Palace had just returned to Scuttle Town, and a torrential downpour was already in motion. The three quickly covered into Mimic's workshop to meet back with the others to find out exactly what was going on.

"Tails! Sonic said as soon as the three entered the building. "What in the world is going on here?!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" He frantically said, typing something into the main computer. "This storm came up out of nowhere after you guys left for Twinkle Palace! I can't track it entirely, but the source is coming from off the island!"

"Off island?" Shantae said, wringing the water out of her hair. "Sounds like Risky's behind this."

"What, does she have a storm machine or something?" Bolo asked. "It seems incredibly impossible that she has a machine that powerful to create this monsoon."

"I wouldn't know.." Shantae said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Given that Eggman gave her a device to try to melt all the snow off Mount Needle, I wouldn't put it past her to have that type of device."

A loud, raging roar sounded from outside the workshop. Sonic's eyes widened, then both he and Shantae rushed out the door.

"Tails," Sky said. "I think you better head out with your friends. They might need you."

Tails nodded. "Mimic, take over for me in linking up to my computer back in my dimension. Once we deal with whatever is going on outside, we'll link up and head back to my world." Mimic nodded, then Tails rushed out of the workshop. Mimic then walked over to the giant computer. "Now, let's get this connection set up..."

The rain fell heavy as the lightning cracked. Tails' fur was soaked before he even got ten feet, let alone getting to Sonic and Shantae on the dock.

"What is it?!" Tails yelled over the howling storm.

Sonic didn't respond. He and Shantae stared ahead at the center of the storm. None other than a giant beast of water rested in the center of the storm. Nothing but pure, Perfect Chaos...

"Tails," Sonic said. "Go get the Tornado fired up. We've gotta deal with this thing, and fast!"

Tails nodded, then rushed to get to the plane. Sonic looked to Shantae, and she nodded before Sonic boosted off onto the water. Shantae took a deep breath, then started swaying her hips in an almost hypnotizing motion before twirling and leaping up into the air. Her skin changed to a scaly green as her legs merged into one fish tail and the silky bedlam shredded from her body and her hair bunned up onto her head. The new mermaid version of herself dived into the water and swam after Sonic as fast as she could. Tails soon followed in the Tornado at high speed...


	12. Chapter 11: Sequin Showdown

The storm swirled violently as the water rushed into giant waves emanating from the beast of pure anarchy itself, Perfect Chaos. Sonic rushed at the beast at full speed, attempting to strike it at full speed. Large tentacles of water shot out of the ocean and shot straight at the blue blur. With quick reaction timing, he shot off the water and started grinding up the tentacles at high speed, straight for Chaos' head. But the beast was more than prepared. With a single concentration second, the creature loosed a burst of energy, knocking Sonic off the tentacle.

Sonic quickly caught footing on a rock, just in time to see Mermaid Shantae crest the water and fire off some sort of energy burst at Chaos' head. It collided, causing the beast to stagger a bit before firing a beam of energy at Shantae. She managed to dodge out of the way before it collided with her.

She re-crested next to Sonic. "That did almost nothing!" She said. "How do we kill this thing?!"

"The head," Sonic said. "I've fought this thing twice before, we need to aim for the nerve system in the spine on its head!" He said, pointing at the glowing green spine at the top of the creature's head.

Shantae nodded, then dove back into the water, heading straight for the inside of the creature. Sonic leaped off the rock and headed straight into the chaos...

* * *

><p>Atop the floating airship the pirates couldn't help but grin at the heroes predicament. "Well, I can't wait to get that gem from their cold dead bodies after all this is over. Then we'll conquer all the worlds and they will know who the true queen of the seas is!" Her cackling grew steadily louder the more she thought about it.<p>

"I guess then you won't be needing me then, huh?" A voice said that made Risky grow silent. Her eyes darted back to the door below deck to have another set of eyes staring back at her. The figure was shrouded by the door, but the eyes and voice were definitely female.

"Oh on the contrare, my friend," Risky said, grinning. "I will definitely make sure you get a share, as greedy as I am. I also want you just in case they manage to take down this force of destruction."

"Pfft, whatever," the figure said. "As long as it's the genie girl, I'm game."

Risky grinned devilishly. "Excellent.."

* * *

><p>With a few clicks of the keys, Tails armed and fired off three photon torpedoes at Chaos' head. Two hit the armored plating and bounced off, while one collided with the spine, inflicting a small amount of damage to the creature.<p>

"! Th-that didn't even scratch it!" Tails said panicked. A large tentacle of water shot up right under the Tornado. "Shoot!" Tails cried before maneuvering the Tornado out of the way. "That thing is near invulnerable! Is this what Eggman tried to achieve at Station Square nearly two years ago?!"

With a burst of speed and a ruptured sound barrier, Sonic blasted off straight at Chaos, purging himself inside the gigantic water beast. With assistance from Shantae launching a blast, a sawblade-spinning Sonic was launched straight up into the brain spine and burst out the top. A loud roar of agony resided from the beast before swatting at the blue hedgehog, then firing an energy blast beam straight at him. Sonic dodged and rushed straight back at the creature, preparing for another assault.

Shantae rushed up inside the creature and began firing energy blasts like mad. Most missed, but a few collided with the brain inflicting even more damage. "We're so close, it should be almost down!" Shantae called.

"Let's hope!" Sonic called as he rushed straight for Chaos. "A couple more strikes oughtta take it down! Tails, get me in!" He said, grabbing onto the wing of the plane.

"I may not able to get close enough to attack, Sonic!" Tails said.

"Just get me above him Tails!" Sonic said. "Shantae and I will take it from there!" Tails nodded. As soon as the fox was above the beast, Sonic launched himself off the wing of the plane and nose-dived straight at Chaos. Meanwhile, Shantae was below, storing energy for a massive energy blast using the Emerald.

"NOW!" Sonic yelled. Shantae started spinning in a high speed top with a purple glow and blasted upward at the same time Sonic curled into a ball and started spinning at high speed. Both Sonic and Shantae collided at the brain of Chaos, and that was more than enough damage and strain to make the creature burst. The explosion sent water flying everywhere, and soon the storm died down.

Tails dipped down over the surface of the water, looking for the two. Soon Shantae blasted out of the water, carrying Sonic before Sonic leaped out of her arms and landed on the plane wing with her.

"Nice job guys!" Tails said. "That should be a crisis averted now that Chaos is out of commission!"

"Nice!" Shantae said. "Now, what do you say we take care of some unfinished buisness?" She said, motioning to Risky's airship.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sonic said. "Let's get 'em!"

* * *

><p>"What?!" Risky yelled, stamping her foot on the deck of her ship. "How?! How could they defeat a creature so powerful?!" She gritted her teeth in anger. This was not her day. First her plans to get the gem were foiled, then failing to melt the snowcaps, then having the strongest monster possible defeated so easily, it was more than enough to get under her skin. "I swear, as soon as I see them, I'm gonna-"<p>

"Gonna what, ya over-saturated prune?" Came a voice from behind her. Risky whirled around to see Sonic, Shantae, still in her mermaid form, and Tails, piloting the plane himself. "You know, I'd suggest you just hightail it back to you villains round table. Of course, we'd be happy to kick your sorry can all the way back."

Risky gritted her teeth. "I'm not giving in to the likes of any of you, especially her!" She said, pointing her sword at the mermaid Shantae.

"You know, I think you need a lesson in respect." Shantae said, hopping off the plane as she reverted to her normal form.

"Oh, I think you're the one who needs the lesson," Risky said, grinning devilishly. "And I think an 'old friend' should be the perfect teacher."

"Enough with your stupid metaphors, do I get to kick her can now?" The figure in the doorway said. Risky nodded. "About time." The figure said.

"No, that can't be... It can't..." Shantae said in disbelief.

"Oh, you better believe it, 'me'." The figure said as she stepped onto the deck. Her paler skin clashed against Shantae's tan skin. The figure wore a purple bedlah similar to Shantae's, but instead had two purple silk ribbons crossover her supple chest in an x formation as opposed to Shantae's bikini-style top. Instead of gold rings, her rings were square and silver that wrapped around her wrists. Her blood red hair was fashioned into two long ponytails, held up by silver braces as opposed to Shantae's gold brace, and her cold, teal eyes spoke anger and hatred. "It's been a long time, 'friend'." She said.

"No... No, it can't be you," Shantae stuttered, tripping over a board shifted higher on the deck as she backed up. "I thought I killed you over a year ago..."

"And left me to die in that underground temple? Yeah, I remember that," The figure said, a noticeable hint of anger in her tone. "Maybe you would like to know the pain I went through, all the suffering and pain I went through as I laid there, near death until she," The figure said, pointing at Risky. "took me under her wing and saved my life." The figure stamped her foot hard into Shantae's chest. Shantae gritted her teeth in pain. "I'm going to look forward to this..." She smiled maliciously.

Nega-S grabbed Shantae by the throat and threw her across the deck. Shantae crashed into a couple of barrels on deck, and barely had any time to react before Nega -S grabbed her again and started beating her across her face, before slamming her face-first into the deck of the ship.

"What's the matter, can't fight?" Nega-S said, holding Shantae's head down. "Pathetic. And you're the same half-genie that nearly killed me last time?"

Shantae gritted her teeth. "You won't get away with this, you monster..."

"Oh, don't you think I will?" Nega-S said, smirking darkly. "Maybe I'll start with that worthless port town, have that place reduced to rubble," Shantae's eyes widened, and anger started bubbling up inside her chest. "And put that old geezer you call your 'uncle' out of his misery, yeah, that'll work." Shantae stared shaking uncontrollably, her anger growing.

"Hey, did I say you could move?" Nega-S said, smashing Shantae's head into the deck again. "Maybe I should start with you, that way you can be spared the pain of when everyone else meets their end." At that point, Shantae couldn't take it anymore. With her free hands, she grabbed Nega-S's arm and pinned her against the wall, her eyes filled with nothing but a burning hatred. "Listen," She said, enfueled with rage. "If you so much as hurt any of my friends, I will hunt you down and I will kill you!" She said, her grip tightening.

Nega-S kicked her shin, which caused Shantae to drop her, before delivering a harsh kick across Shantae's face. Anger fueled Shantae and she dived at Nega-S, and soon it turned into a cat fight at the sound of scratching and cloth-ripping.

Shantae then grabbed Nega-S and repeatedly smashed her into the side of the ship's deck until she eventually slammed her into the deck with a sickening crack. Nega-S slumped to the floor, unconscious. Shantae's vented anger was reflected in her heavy breathing, and soon she collapsed to her knees, using her arms to support herself.

"Shantae!" Sonic said, jumping off the plane and rushing to her side. "C'mon, Shantae, stay with me!"

The half-genie merely chuckled at this. "You really think something like her is gonna take me down?" Shantae remarked. "How little faith do you have in me?"

"I just care about keeping you alive." Sonic said, lifting her up into his arms. "We're heading back to my world, now." He said, hoping onto the plane as it passed by, leaving Risky alone on her ship.

"But what about..." Shantae started.

"The others?" Tails finished. "Already took care of it. They're coming with us."

Shantae nodded. "Then let's head back home... your home!" She said, smiling.

* * *

><p>"So then, you couldn't stop them?" Eggman said through the video call. Risky shook her head.<p>

"They're much more powerful than the last time I fought them." Risky said. "They blew through your creature like it was nothing."

Eggman massaged his temples. "Well, it wasn't anything on your error," he said. "So return to base, we'll work something out."

Risky gave another salute. "You can count on me, sir!" She said, before the call ended.

"Hopefully with these new allies, we can formulate something out to stop them..." Eggman muttered to himself...


	13. Chapter 12: The Birth of Nightmares

**_9:30 P.M.  
>Kingdom of Tranquility, La-Lakoosha, Lunatea<em>**

"Lolo, are you sure you're ok?" The small jewel-eyed dog asked to the female Lunatean. Aside from her tail and ears, she looked rather human, wearing a dark crimson dress-skirt, with a belt, and brown shoes. "It's been almost a year ever since you resigned from your priestess training. It's not because of that magic, is it?"

The Lunatean shook her head. "No Popka, it's not that," she said calmly. While, yes, she had discovered she had holy magic concealed within her own body, that wasn't why she had resigned. She stared out the window of the small house the two lived in. Almost a year had passed since the incident with the Kingdom of Sorrow had happened, and a certain cabbit boy that had been brought here had to leave...

"Oh, surely you didn't quit because of _him_, did you?" Popka asked irritantly. "You shouldn't just go throwing away your ideals just because you love someone!"

"Popka..."

"Seriously, Lolo, move on! That was over a year ago!" He continued. "I understand you want to follow your heart and find him, but that doesn't mean you give up everything you've been working for in the process!"

"Popka..."

"Now look, don't just sit here and wait for your Prince Charming to come bursting through the door any day now! You still have a life to live, and you're better off going out and socializing than just sitting here waiting for him. You only have one life, live it for g-" Popka was cut off as a large explosion resounded outside, a blast force so great every kingdom in Lunatea shook.

"Wh-what was that?!" Lolo stuttered. The reving of a motorcycle engine and the honk meant someone was here. Lolo looked back out the window to see a black and gold wolf, a species extremely rare in Lunatea. Without hesitation, Lolo rushed for the door and flung it open.

"Guntz?!" She cried. "What in Claire's name is going on?!"

The wolf, Guntz shook his head. "No time to explain that!" He said. "Get on! There's been an explosion at the cathedral!"

Lolo gasped. The cathedral was one of the most sacred places in La-Lakoosha. Who and why would want to attack the cathedral?

"Hey!" Guntz called. "Get your head out of the clouds and come on!"

**_9:45 P.M.  
>Holy Cathedral, La-Lakoosha, Lunatea<em>**

The red motorcycle skidded to a halt outside the blasted cathedral. Lolo covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh... My..." She breathed. The stained-glass windows were blown out as the shards of them were scattered all across the ground. Large marble columns were collapsed, and holy statues were destroyed.

"What... what happened?" Popka asked. Then he noticed a small floating cat, split in half of color.

"Tat? What's she doing here?" Lolo asked, before motioning to her to ask what was going on.

"There was huge explosion we felt from the kingdom." Tat said. "Leorina and I just got here a few minutes ago."

"Where is she?" Guntz asked, looking around the rubble. "I don't see her."

"She's still inside fighting whatever set the bomb off," Tat said worriedly. "and she still hasn't come out!"

Guntz nodded. "I'm going in."

"Not without us." Lolo said, Popka leaping up to her shoulder. "She's our friend too."

Guntz sighed. "Guess I can't really persuade you not to go in.." He said. "Let's find out who did this.." And so the trio headed inside the ruined cathedral...

The three made it inside in time to see a girl a bit older than Lolo bashing heads with a shadowy figure. "Leorina!" Lolo gasped.

Leorina, the girl Lolo had called to, was looking worse for wear. The golden headress she usually wore was shattered, having her dark crimson hair frizzled and spilt out everywhere. Her clothing was torn, with deep cuts lodged into her skin. She kept her grip firm on a golden rod with a red gem in the end of it, breathing heavily.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," she said through gritted teeth at the shadowy figure. "Who are you and what buisness do you have with Lunatea thinking you can just blow everything up?" Her grip tightened firmer on the rod she held.

"The Chaos Emeralds." A cold, metallic voice came from the figure. It took one step out into the pale glow of the moonlight. A cobalt blue shine came off the body and head of the figure aside from its metallic red feet. "Now hand them over."

"Chaos Emeralds...?"Was all Leorina got to say before the figure blasted her backwards into the others.

"The Emeralds. Hand them over." The figure said. Suddenly a beeping came from the figure's wrist. It clicked its wrist and the voice of a very annoyed Eggman came on.

"Metal, what in the blazes do you think you're doing?! Get back here immediately!" The voice over the comm said. The figure nodded before blasting off upwards into the sky, into a dimensional portal...

"So, that's the guy that blew up the cathedral?" Popka asked.

Leorina nodded from where she was sitting. "As soon as Tat and I got here that... thing... ambushed me inside."

"What are these Chaos Emeralds he mentioned?" Guntz asked. "It seemed to have a fascination to find them or something."

Leorina just shrugged. "That I couldn't tell you."

Lolo sighed. "You know what this means..." She said. The others turned to look at her.

"Our world is in crisis again. I should feel his presence, but he's not here..."

"You mean the kid, right?" Guntz asked.

Lolo nodded. "We have to find Klonoa. Fast."

**_11:25 P.M.  
>Mystic Ruin Cliffs, Mystic Ruins<em>**

The dimensional portal opened up right next to the cliff just below Tails' Workshop as an airship departed from the portal and docked near the cliff.

"This was where he was traced to last time." Leorina said from the ship as Lolo, Guntz, and Popka disembarked the ship. "He couldn't have gone far, so he might still be nearby."

Guntz nodded. "We'll find him."

Leorina nodded back. "I've got to get back to monitor the Kingdom in case something gets suspicious. Good luck." She said, before turning the ship around and headed back through the portal.

Lolo turned back to the others. "Let's find him, and fast." She said before taking off up the dirt path, Guntz and Popka in pursuit.

_"He's got to be here.."_ Lolo thought to herself. _"He HAS to be. I can feel his presence.."_

**_11:28 P.M.  
>Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

The young cabbit boy stirred a bit before sitting up in the bed he had been provided. The vivid images had been too much for him to sleep.

"You seem tense, Klonoa," A blonde haired girl said from the hammock she was resting on. This was Celes Chere, a former Imperial General that joined Terra and the Returners. "Is something wrong?"

Klonoa nodded. "I can't sleep." He said, resting his chin in his hands. "I've been restless ever since this entire crisis happened. We don't even know if Sonic and Shantae have succeeded where they are."

"I can understand what you mean," Celes said, leaning back in the hammock. "For the longest time, I was riddled with sorrow because I thought all of my allies and close friends were dead after Kefka destroyed our world.." She said, a small tear running down her cheek. "But, I pressed on, and was eventually able to find that they were still alive. It was the one thing that kept me going.."

"Wow," Klonoa breathed. "Sounds like you had it rough.."

"Most of us have," Celes said. "Terra, for the longest time, was completely unsure of what exactly she was. When she first found out she was half esper, she went ballistic." She said. "After that, most people we talked to said of a 'pink comet' that blasted through the sky."

"Man," Klonoa said. 'and here I thought I'd be the odd one out.."

"What do you mean?" Celes asked. She was highly curious as to what this kid meant.

"Well," He started, but then a red blip started flashing on the wall. "Oh, shoot. Looks like one of Tails' sensors caught something sneaking around here."

"Well then," Celes said, donning the white cape that hung next to the hammock. "We may as well go see what the issue is." Klonoa nodded, then the two headed out to investigate.

**_11:30 P.M.  
>Cliffside Ruins, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"Is there no sign of anyone _anywhere?_" Lolo worried. "Klonoa's got to be here, I _know_ it."

"Look, Lolo," Popka said, hopping up onto her shoulder. "I understand you want to find him, but you can't push yourself this much. You'll get hurt." He said. "And getting hurt over him is honestly not worth it..." He muttered under his breath.

"Popka!" Lolo said. "You know he's important!"

"Look, both of you cool your jets. We're going to find him." Guntz said. He suddenly grew tense at the sound of something moving through the bushes. He grabbed his lazer blaster and aimed at the source...

And was almost immediately frozen in place by a blast of ice. Lolo and Popka whizzed around to see their attacker, a tall, blonde girl with an ice-like substance reverberating around her hand.

Lolo got into a defensive position and readied her own holy magic...

Lolo held her breath. She knew that this woman had more power with her magic than she did with her own. She knew that this woman could potentially end her with a single powerful ice blast. The blast she had fired at Guntz earlier only stunned him, but Lolo knew that this woman could unleash more.

"Wh-who are you?" Lolo asked hesitantly, knowing that anything she did wrong could potentially spell her end.

"I may as well ask you the same question.." The woman said. "You're trespassing in a restricted area here. Are you lost?"

Lolo shook her head. "I-I'm looking for a boy named Klonoa.. have you seen him?"

"How do I know you aren't allied with our enemies?" The woman questioned. "You may just be looking for him just to sabotage us."

A look of shock and a hint of anger appeared in her eyes. Betray her friends and the only one who ever understood her, Klonoa? She would never!

"No!" She yelled. "I would never work with anyone who attacked our world! And I would never betray Klonoa!"

"Lolo, shut it!" Popka whispered through gritted teeth. "You're just going to make things worse.."

"You're not in this Popka!" Lolo said.

"Jeez Celes, wait up a bit, would ya?" The cabbit boy said, entering the scene from behind the woman. "I don't necessarily have my airboard here OR an ice surfer."

"Not now Klonoa," Celes said, drawing her Runic Blade. "This is between myself, and the girl."

Klonoa looked across from Celes and saw who she meant: Lolo. "No!" Klonoa said angrily, blocking Celes. "I know this girl! I won't let you!"

Celes eyed the cabbit boy suspiciously. "How do I know that this group isn't working for the likes of our enemies?"

Klonoa held his ground. "I know these people. They would never betray me, especially Lolo!" From the corner of his eye he swore he saw Lolo blush.

Celes mulled over it for a bit. "Very well. Have them come back to Tails' workshop and we can work something out.." She turned and headed back in the direction of the workshop.

**_12:45 P.M.  
>Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins<em>**

"There you guys are!" Terra said from the doorstep of the workshop when Celes and Klonoa returned to the workshop. "The guys have ben up worried sick about you two since you left!"

"Please, Terra, just relax," Celes said, putting a hand on the green-haired girl's shoulder. "We were just out checking one of the fox's scanners. A couple of Klonoa's allies seemed to have made it here."

"Well, at least that's a relief." Terra sighed, while Klonoa and Lolo entered the workshop, conversing non-stop. "But with the condition of what has been going on with each of our worlds, you can't be sneaking out like that. What if one of the Imperial Forces finds you?"

"Then I will freeze them." Celes said, ice crystals surrounding her left hand. "Empire or not, they are no match for my ice magic."

"I hope so..." Terra said, turning and heading back inside. "Is there any word of the blue one's return?"

Jeff, from the base computer, shook his head. "No contact whatsoever of their return. But they should be back any minute."

"I hope so..." Terra said. At that minute a light started blinking on the monitor of the computer.

"Heh, speak of the devil," Jeff said, typing something into the keyboard. "That must be them now."

_**12:50 P.M.**_

_**Ruin Airspace, Mystic Ruins**_

The giant portal ripped open into the sky of the Mystic Ruins as a red biplane exited the portal. The plane swooped down from the sky and entered into the hangar of Tails' Workshop.

"So, how'd it go?" Terra asked as the plane stopped.

"Us one, Egghead, a fat zero!" Sonic said as he leapt off the wing of the plane. "Stopped the world from drowning AND a Chaos Emerald to boot!" He said, whipping out the purple diamond.

"Sweet!" Klonoa said. "So, that means we only have six or so left right?"

"Yep," Shantae said, exhausted. "But I'm beat from that mission. I'll take a break, k' Sonic?"

"I don't see why not," Sonic shrugged. "But that means we'll need need someone else to go this time."

"Hey, how about I go?" Klonoa asked, stepping forward. "I'm needed in Lunatea anyways, since my friends came here to get me."

Sonic shrugged. "O...kay," he said hesitantly. "If you're needed there, don't let me stop ya."

"How about my group goes too?" Ness asked, stepping forward. "If we each try to go to our own worlds alone, we're more likely to get ambushed. We'd be better prepared if we go in numbers."

Sonic shrugged. "Fine. We'll be here to re-open the portal if you guys need it."

"Whatever," Guntz said. "I'll contact Leorina. She should be here within the hour. Get your stuff ready."

_**1:14 A.M.**_

_**Ruined Cliffs, Mystic Ruins**_

"Well, it's a good thing you found him." Leorina called from the captain's seat. "And good thing too. We've got trouble in Lunatea now!"

"Then let's get moving!" Guntz said, grabbing onto one of the wings. "We don't have much time!"

Lolo and Popka soon got onto the airship docked at the bay, followed by Ness' group. Klonoa was the last to board.

"Don't worry guys!" Klonoa called from the ship to the others. "You can count on me!" Soon the airship took off as it lifted into the sky, and into the portal bound for Lunatea...


	14. Chapter 13: Losing Power

_**11:37 P.M.  
><strong>_**_Lunatea, Realm of Dreams_**

The airship left the portal of the sky and soon stabilized as it touched down near Volk, the Kingdom of Discord. Klonoa, Lolo, and Guntz, along with Ness and his group.

"This was where the nightmare forces were last seen. They must be using the city's civil war as cover so they can pull out whatever they may be planning." Leorina said. "I've got to get back to Hyuponia to make sure the fortifications there are still up. Good luck."

The cabbit boy nodded. "You can count on us Leorina!" He said.

Leorina smiled a bit. _'As energetic as always...'_ She thought to herself before she turned the airship and headed for Hyuponia, the former Kingdom of Sorrow.

"Alright," Ness said. "Now, we probably have a limited amount of time before whatever this nightmare brigade has in store. So we should probably get moving and find out where they are before we're too late."

Lolo nodded. "I have a feeling where they might be... but we need to lay low when we're travelling through here. The civil war here has been known to take innocent lives."

"Just have them stay behind me," Guntz retorted, arming his double crimson pistols. "I'll get them through here safe."

Lolo worriedly nodded. "o...kay..." She said hesitantly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:56 P.M.<br>Powerhouse Citadel, Volk, Lunatea**_

"Now then, what is it exactly that you need with the citadel's generator?" Ghadius had asked. "It seems rather improbable that you would need the city's generator for reviving your 'former master'."

"Rest assured Ghadius, this plan is near fool-proof." Porky said as Klonoa and Ness hid behind the large generator in the room. "With the power of the Chaos Emerald, we can revive my former master and then this world will TRULY bow down before their leader!"

"..." Ghadius seemed to remain silent. "Very well, if you know what you are doing, I suppose I will leave this up to you." He said. "Now, I' will be off to rally my nightmare forces. Make sure nothing happens of this while I am gone."

Porky nodded. "Anyone tries anything funny, they will only get a TASTE of what the Pigmask Army is capable of!" He said, clenching his fist. With that, Ghadius vanished into the floor. Soon Porky got a message from one of his soldiers, and it was clear he was irritated about something. He then exited with his spider-mech through a window.

"Looks like they won't be back for a while," Ness said. "Let's just grab the Emerald and get the heck outta here before they come back."

"Hold up." Klonoa said. "We can't grab the gem."

"Why not?" Ness asked. "Now seems like the perfect time."

"If you grab the gem now while the generator is still on, you'll kill yourself from the high voltage." Klonoa said. "We gotta shut off both of the secondary generators before we can get at that generator for the emerald."

"Well, where are they?" Ness asked.

"One is up by the city's train station," Klonoa said. "And the other is underground in the sewers. Once we shut both down, the generator's power level should be lowered to a safe enough level that we should get into it."

Ness nodded. "Which one are we going after first?"

"Let's get the worst one out of the way and head for the train station." Klonoa stated, standing up. "The one underground should be easier to get to when we're not under heavy fire."

Ness nodded. "Then let's get moving. We're running out of time."

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:15 A.M.<br>**__**Volkan City, Volk, Lunatea**_

Bullets spewed and ricocheted off multiple surfaces as Ness and Klonoa made a mad dash across the city. A building collapsed and Ness quickly slid out of the way before the building came down.

"How much fire does this city come under per day?!" Ness yelled over the roaring of the firing.

"On average, quite the amount!" Klonoa yelled back. "I've heard a lot of discussion about the other kingdoms planning on intervening with the civil war!"

"They better make up their minds fast, or there won't be a kingdom to intervene!" Paula called over the roar of the fighting. "Think Guntz and the others have it easier?"

"Doubtful," Lolo called. "That second generator is pretty deep underground, I don't know if we can make it in time!"

"Have faith!" Klonoa said. "We can make it! I know it!"

Lolo nodded, leaping over a twisted mailbox. "I just hope the others are okay..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:23 A.M.<br>**__**Volkan Sewers, Volk, Lunatea**_

"Figures," Guntz grumbles, taking the elevator down into the underground Volkan Factory. "I could have been the one to go after the surface generator, but Nooooooo, had to be the two lovebirds."

"Guntz, please, if you would," Jeff said, straightening his glasses. "Try to refrain from homicidal thoughts against your friends while we try to get this generator fiasco sorted out."

Guntz rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "As long as I get a piece of Ghadius at the end of all this I'll be satisfied."

Pu rolled his eyes at this statement. "True warriors never got anywhere with rage, Guntz." He said philosophically. "Just calm down, rest assured Ghadius will be stopped."

"That I can guarantee," Guntz said, arming his blaster. "Whether or not he'll be in one piece, I don't know."

"Let's just get this generator shut off," Jeff said. "Otherwise there won't BE a world to save."

* * *

><p><strong><em>12:25 A.M.<em>  
><strong>_**Volkan Skyline, Volk, Lunatea**_

"C'mon, the generator is just further!" Klonoa said, as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Ness was right on his heels, while Lolo and Paula struggled to keep up.

"Klonoa, w-wait up!" Lolo said as she tripped over one of the roof vents. Klonoa quickly rushed back and scopped her up in his arms and got out of there just before another bomb landed nearby.

"Don't worry, I got you!" Klonoa said, rushing along the rooftops with Lolo in his arms. "We're almost there, just hold on!"

Soon after a quick leap, the four soon were on top of a train, headed straight for the central station. "There it is guys!" Ness said, pointing ahead to a large building. "There's the station! Let's shut the generator down!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:33 P.M.<strong>_

_**Central Station, Volk, Lunatea**_

"Alright, so where exactly is this generator located?" Ness asked as the four entered the ruined station.

"It should be up top," Klonoa said, leaping up some collapsed debris in the center. "Wait here guys, I'll get it down."

"Wait, did he say he'll 'get it down'?" Paula asked, looking worried.

"Don't worry, you'll see." Lolo reassured her. Sure enough, a hatch opened up in the ceiling, and a large mechanism lowered out of the ceiling, Klonoa standing at the base.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" He called from the platform. "You wouldn't think a constantly warring city would have somethin' as advanced as this, but man they managed to find a way to do so!"

Soon, the mechanism reached ground level, and it was apparent that this was the generator. Various gauges were reading that it was overloading, so they had to shut this thing down fast or it would blow.

"Ok, get to the other three switches around this thing." Lolo said. "We need to shut all the switches off simultaneously or this thing won't shut off." Ness and Paula nodded before getting to the other side of the machine.

"Ok, on three, ok?" Klonoa said. "One.. Two... Three!"

All four switches were pulled simultaneosly, as the whirring of the machine died down.

"Alright, that's one generator down," Klonoa said. "Now we just need Guntz to hold up his end of the mission..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:35 P.M.<strong>_

_**Underground Foundry, Volk, Lunatea**_

"Is this the generator room?" Pu asked as they arrived at the deepest room of the foundry.

"Looks like it," Jeff said, straightening his glasses. "Now, where's the generator?"

"Up top," Guntz said, scaling the room. "I'll get it down."

After a short climb, the generator was lowered down to ground level. "Alright, let's shut this hunk of scrap down." Guntz said, jumping off the platform. "Just pull the three levers and this thing'll shut down."

Jeff and Pu nodded, then went to the respective levers on the machine. All three were pulled on the machine at the same time, and the machine shut down.

"Alright, let's meet back up with the others." Guntz said. "That should be the last generator."


	15. Chapter 14: Return of the Alien

_**12:55 A.M.**_

_**Powerhouse Citadel, Volk, Lunatea**_

"Ok, looks like they haven't gotten back yet," Ness said, peeking around the corner of a large pipe at the giant machine. "That gives us time."

Klonoa nodded. "I'll nab the emerald. Watch my back." He said, before making a dash for the casing housing the white gem. A bolt of nightmare energy struck the ground in front of him, causing him to skid to a halt. He whirled around to see none other than Ghadius staring him down.

"Very crafty, Dream Traveler..." He said, his hand glowing a dark purple. "Having us distracted in order to shut off the generators. But, as you can see, you are far too late." Klonoa whirled back around to see the casing of red smoke shining. "Thanks to the efforts of the gem, we can now revive one of the fallen..."

A blast of lights struck Ghadius in the back. He merely turned his head to see Ness, hand smoking from the PK Rockin' he had just fired. Ghadius chuckled. "It will take more than a light show in order to phase me..."

Ness gritted his teeth. "What do you mean about reviving one of the fallen?"

"Oh, you'll find out shortly!" Porky said, entering through a large window. "Ness, I think you'll recognize him.."

The red tube started glowing before the entire machine started to shake. The sound of bending metal and crackling static became louder and more violent as the whole machine shook. Then, the whole machine burst, shards of glass and bits of flying in many directions. Ness and Klonoa shielded their faces from the blast, smoke filling the room. When the smoke cleared, Ness lowered his arm to see none other than a pale skinned enigma alien, floating in the rubble of the blast. Ness' eyes widened. "N-no... it can't be..."

The alien smirked. "Hmph, if it isn't the so-called leader of the Chosen Four, Ness." He remarked. "Long time no see,"

"How?!" Ness yelled, glaring angrily at Porky. "How could you have revived him?!"

"Oh it was rather simple actually," Porky snidely remarked. "It is so much easier to revive something when you have the power of Chaos Energy!"

"Chaos Energy?" Klonoa asked, before being knocked backwards by a blast from Porky's mech. Lolo squealed and ran from her hiding spot to Klonoa, hoping that the cabbit boy was ok.

"Hmph, still pitifully naïve as before," Ghadius remarked at the unconscious cabbit boy. "Now," he said, turning back to Ness with a dark energy ball in his palm. "To deal with a few unforsaken mice..."

Ness gripped tightly to his bat as he eyed Ghadius. "You can't scare me, bird face!" He shouted. "Bring it!"

"Choosing to fight me over submitting to the Empire's rule... how gutless." Ghadius remarked, before firing off the lump of dark energy at Ness. Ness' grip tightened around the bat, he planted his feet firmly into the ground, and swung, colliding the bat with the energy orb. The energy orb went flying straight into Porky's spider-mech, causing to topple over and fly into a fit of rage.

"Hey, pig's butt!" He angrily growled. "I ain't the one you're fighting here!"

"As far as I'm concerned, you are, you bacon-filled excuse for a human!" Ness said, rushing at Porky, preparing to smash the glass dome of the mech in.

Soon an invisible force grabbed Ness by the neck, and he looked over to see that it was the alien, Giygas, constricting him with psychokinesis. Then, with a flick of the wrist, Ness was flung backwards, colliding with the ground before landing face-first, unconscious.

"How foolish," Giygas said. "And here I thought I would have been given a challenge." He chuckled to himself.

"I believe we have some business to attend to with this realm." Ghadius said. "Come, let these insignificant worms be stamped out by their own follies." Porky nodded, before Ghadius sank into the darkness. Porky's mech grabbed the Chaos Emerald from the rubble before climbing out a large window of the ruined citadel, Giygas following close behind...

* * *

><p><em><strong>1:20 A.M.<strong>_

_**Lolo's House, La-Lakoosha,** **Lunatea**_

"Is he coming to yet?" A muffled voice asked from outside the cabbit boy's consciousness.

"Maybe, not sure," Another muffled voice said. "Give him some time,"

"Why couldn't you guys just have Pu use PK Lifeup on him?" Another voice asked.

"Paula, you forget that Klonoa isn't exactly human like us," Yet another voice said. "We wouldn't know how drastically it would affect his bodily functions, if not just outright make it worse than he already is."

"Well we need to try something!" The other voice huffed. "We can't just have him lying here unconscious!"

The cabbit boy stirred a bit before his eyes snapped open. The bright glare from the citadel had stuck in his eyes as they adjusted to the darker setting. Klonoa looked over to see a fire crawling in the fireplace, while several others from the group were dotted across the room on the pieces of furniture. Lolo was the first to notice Klonoa's awakening.

"Oh, thank Claire's stars you're alive, Klonoa!" She breathed rushing over and hugging the cabbit boy. "I thought you had..." She breathed trying to hold back her tears.

"Please, Lolo, just relax," Klonoa said, looking at a couple of the glances from across the room. He could have sworn that he saw Guntz chuckling from his seat. "_This is so embarrassing..._"

"I-I'm sorry," Lolo stammered, releasing her grip from around Klonoa. "I-I was just so worried about you. You were hit pretty hard back there."

"Heh, no kidding," Klonoa rubbing his head. His hat was off and bandaging was wrapped around his head. "Feels like a freight train rush hour crashing in my head right now."

"Heh, you're not the only one," Guntz said, looking over to the unconscious Ness on the couch. "Poor sucker here's been out for at least an hour now."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Klonoa asked, sitting up from his seat.

"Eh, he'll be fine." Guntz said. "He's just out cold."

"What about the Chaos Emerald?" Klonoa asked. "Did any of you guys grab that?"

Paula shook her head. "No, none of us grabbed it. They got away with it."

Klonoa sighed, pinching his forehead. "Well, looks like we're back to square one." He said.

"Not necessarily," Jeff said, fixing his glasses. "There could be some leftover information scattered around here and there. If you headed out and started looking around, we might be able to gather information on Ghadius' and Porky's whereabouts."

"Hopefully," Klonoa said, standing up. "I'm gonna get some fresh air. It's getting a bit stuffy in here." He said heading out the door.

Pu looked at Guntz questionably. "It doesn't feel that stuffy in here."

"Yeah, that kid's hiding something..."

* * *

><p>Klonoa collapsed under the large willow at the cliff near Lolo's house, his cheeks flushed red with exhaustion. It had been a long, near restless night trying to track down and stop Ghadius, and here they were, back to square one with a Chaos Emerald missing, most likely in his hands!<p>

He let out a heavy sigh. The amount of chaotic stuff that had happened within the past few hours had been straining on him, and at this point, he gave in and fell asleep under the tree, before being startled awake by a voice.

"Heh, a bit tired?" A soft female voice spoke, startling the cabbit boy. Klonoa turned his head to see Lolo, sitting down next to him, looking out over the cliff at the ocean. "I wouldn't blame you."

"Yeah..." Klonoa said, sighing heavily. "It's just been a long day. And I'm exhausted."

"Yeah," Lolo sighed, looking back over the cliff. "This setting reminds me a lot of the time you were here before."

"Heh, yeah," Klonoa chuckled. "Back when Leorina was trying to copy my ring for her uses."

"Yeah, until she got it through her head what she was dealing with was something she couldn't handle." Lolo said, leaning back against the trunk of the willow. "And then that whole sequence happened.."

"Please, don't remind me." Klonoa said. "That's one memory I want to put out of my head."

"Yeah.." Lolo said, her hand drifting to Klonoa's hand. Klonoa's head snapped to Lolo's, looking each other in the eyes. Lolo blushed severely as thoughts raced through her mind.

"Uh, K-Klonoa," Lolo stammered, her hand trembling in Klonoa's. "Th-there's something I need to tell you..."

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Klonoa asked, letting out a yawn.

"Listen," she said, feeling like she was sweating bullets. "I-I never got to ask this to you since you kind of... vanished the first time, but..." She stammered. Why couldn't she get the courage to say this?

"Come on, what is it?" Klonoa asked. "You're a bit...edgy about what it is you want to say.."

"K-Klonoa, I-I...I..." Lolo stuttered, barely managing to be able to get the words out. "I-I..."

"Look, Lolo, it's just us." Klonoa said. "You don't need to worry about anyone eavesdropping on us, just tell m-" was all that came out of Klonoa's mouth before Lolo slammed her lips into Klonoa's. Klonoa was initially shocked by this but soon gave in to Lolo's sweet kiss.

The two soon broke the kiss as Lolo asked, "D-does that answer y-your question?" Klonoa nodded. Lolo smiled warmly, before noticing Klonoa's Wind Ring, looking so... dull.

"Mmh?" She muttered. "Klonoa, your ring.." She said, with Klonoa also noticing his lifeless ring.

"Huh, never noticed it being this...dull before." He said, looking over the wind ring.

"I might be able to do something with it. Can I see it?" Lolo asked. Klonoa nodded, handing her the ring.

"I-I haven't gotten a lot of practice with this, but... it should work." She said, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath, and exhaled as her hands started glowing a holy white as she muttered a holy scripture. The white light engulfed the ring, and after a few seconds, the light around the ring died down. The ring had now had been ornately engraved with patterns, and the green gem had then been cut finer and had more faces than the normal gem.

"It may not be much.." She said, handing the ring back to Klonoa. "But it something I wanted to repay you for."

Klonoa nodded. "Yeah," he breathed. The two sat in silence a bit before Klonoa stood up.

"Well, we should probably be getting back to the others." Klonoa said, helping Lolo up. Lolo nodded. "Yeah, they're probably wondering where we are." She said, blushing slightly.

Klonoa nodded. "And Lolo?" He said.

"Y-yes?" Lolo asked hesitantly.

Klonoa smiled. "Thanks."


	16. Chapter 15: Chaotic Carnival Catastrophe

_**2:15 A.M.**_

_**Balloon Carnival, Jolliant, Lunatea**_

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Klonoa spoke through the headset that Jeff had provided. "Not exactly sure we're finding anything soon."

"Ask around," Jeff spoke through the headset. "Scientific probability states for me that it is impossible for them to vanish without leaving SOME sort of trace."

"Well, we'll contact you if we get any developments." Klonoa said. "For now, we're out." He said, cutting the transmission.

"So, where should we start first?" Lolo asked, looking around the giant carnival. "There are so many stands to ask at!"

"I'm not sure." Klonoa said. "Hopefully someone should be able to provide some information."

"We'll, don't you two get sidetracked!" Popka said, hoping up onto Klonoa's shoulder. "Remember, we're here on a mission, not a lover's date!"

"Popka, please," Lolo said. "Just don't embarrass us, ok?"

"Embarrass you two?" Popka said, crossing his arms. "Listen, you two don't go all lovey-dovey on each other, I won't interfere."

Klonoa rolled his eyes and sighed. "I have to deal with this now..."

* * *

><p>After wandering around for a little bit, Klonoa and Lolo ended up near the large Ferris wheel. Klonoa looked up to the top and got an idea.<p>

"Hey, you think I might be able to see anything from the top of the ferris wheel?" Klonoa asked.

"Possibly," Lolo said. "That ferris wheel is the tallest within Jolliant, so it may work."

"Alright, I'll head up," Klonoa said. "I'll be back down shortly."

"How are you going to get up there?" Klonoa asked. "We don't have anything to pay for the ride."

"Who said I was taking the ride?" Klonoa said, smirking.

"What?" Lolo asked before Klonoa took off. Klonoa took a running start and jumped off of a bench before firing of a wind bullet at a moderate-sized balloon. The balloon filled with air before lifting Klonoa up high into the air, carrying him to the top of the ferris wheel. As soon as he got to the top, he ditched the balloon, jumping off it and landing on the rail of the giant ferris wheel. As the wheel was spinning, Klonoa strolled at a light pace in the opposite direction to stay on.

"Hmm, let's see..." Klonoa said, looking over the region from the top of the ferris wheel. "Volk's already been cleared out..." He said to himself, turning his head towards the far-off snowy mountains. "There's nothing worth going after in Mira-Mira, and La-Lakoosha is to sacred for someone like Ghadius to attack, unless he wants to enrage the goddess..." He said, flipping a complete 180 and started walking backwards on the rail. "And the Sea of Tears hasn't been back to normal since that incident... it's possible that they might be headed straight for Hyuponia. If so, I don't know if Leorina can take them..."

A large explosion occurred near the bottom of the ferris wheel, throwing Klonoa off his concentration. Quick to react, Klonoa leaped off of the ferris wheel, headed straight for the ground. Before he collided with it, he gave a large flap of his ears, and slowed his descent, softly landing on the ground on his feet. Clearly, something was wrong...

Lolo was missing, and Klonoa didn't know where she was. His instincts taking the better of him, he rushed off towards where the explosion happened while other civilians were fleeing...

* * *

><p>"L-let me go!" Lolo cried as the giant mech held her in place. "Just l-l-leave me alone!"<p>

"You? Hah, not a chance!" Porky laughed through his cockpit. "I've already got plans for this park, and YOU are in my way. So..." He maliciously grinned, positioning two blade-like spider legs if his neck near Lolo's neck. "Unfortunately, you are going to be not moving for a long time..."

"N-no!" Lolo cried, squirming to try and break free. "No! I-I refuse to die!"

A sharp collision of an object to the cockpit of Porky's mech threw him off concentration, leaving Lolo enough time to squirm out of the mech's grasp. Porky's cockpit swiveled around to see Klonoa, wind ring smoking from the object he just fired.

"Oh, well that's nice," Porky said. "More cannon fodder!" Several hatches opened up to reveal large artillery-grade cannons. Klonoa barely had a second to move out of the way before they fired upon him, causing several heaps of earth to be heaved into the air.

"Oh, like you wish!" Klonoa said, his ring transforming into the hilt of a sword. "Let's see how you like a taste of the Wind Sabre!" The blade of energy formed from the ring as Klonoa slashed downward through one of the mech's legs, severing it from the body and causing it to lose stability. "My guess is you have a severe allergic reaction to it!"

"Why you...!" Porky said struggling to rightened the mech. "You won't be laughing so much when I have your head mounted on the wall of my throne room!" The mech suddenly sprouted large wire-like tentacles, all shooting straight for Klonoa. But then, the wire tentacles faltered, before bursting in a shower of sparks altogether.

"Wh-what?!" Porky shouted before turning to see the cause; Lolo, a white glow enveloping her eyes and right hand, which was pointed at Porky.

"You leave him alone!" She yelled, before firing off another blast of holy magic at Porky's mech. The sizzling off of the surface of the mech was a clear indication that this wasn't made of normal metal.

"Alright, that's it!" Porky growled. "Not more restraining! I WILL kill you two!"

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try that after this, lard ball!" Klonoa said, holding his wind ring in front of him. Energy seemed to build up inside of the ring itself as it grew brighter.

"Klonoa, let me help." Lolo said, charging a large white energy blast. "We should be able to take him down if we both attack at the same time!"

Klonoa nodded. "Ok, on my cue..." He said, the charge in his ring nearing completion. "Ok, fire now!"

Both forces fired from Klonoa and Lolo collided with Porky's mech, launching the thing across the park before it crash-landed at the other side.

"This isn't over you two!" Porky said, his mech getting back up. "You may have the high road now, but we still have the Chaos Emerald! And should you dare to challenge both I and Ghadius, we dare you to come to Hyuponia. You will be surprised..." He said, cackling as the mech turned to a ship and flew off in the direction of the Sea of Tears...

"We're going after him." Klonoa said. "Hopefully Ness has recovered by now. Let's get him, then we'll head for the Kingdom of Sorrow..."


	17. Chapter 16: Chaos of Nightmares

_**3:35 A.M.**_

_**Lolo's House, La-Lakoosha, Lunatea**_

"Is that the last of what we need?" Klonoa said, looking over the group. "The sooner we get to Hyuponia, the sooner we can get the emerald."

Lolo nodded. "I've got no doubt in my mind that those two have a trap for us when we get there." She said, showing a bracelet on her wrist with a white orb in it. "That's why I'm taking this."

"Same," Guntz said, showing a gauntlet with a similar-sized red orb in it. "Even if he is the king of nightmares, he's not getting off that easily."

"Wait, what are those?" Ness asked, looking at Lolo's bracelet.

"Elements of emotion." Lolo responded. "Every being in existence is made of emotion. The one in my possession is the Element of Tranquility, while Guntz's is the Element of Discord."

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of hassle, having to carry an entire world's emotion on your shoulders." Paula said, interested by the topic. "Is it just you two that have to carry the weight of the world's emotion?"

Lolo shook her head. "We're not the only ones. Leorina, the one who brought us here in the first place, is the wielder of the Emotion of Indecision. And Klonoa..."

"I've got two to uphold. The Emotion of Joy and the Emotion of Sorrow." Klonoa said, showing his two hidden bracelets. "I've been having to wield these for a while now..."

"Hey, hate to be the backstory breaker here, but shouldn't you three get a move-on?" Popka said.

"The jewel-eyed one is right." Pu said. "The longer we stand here, the more time is wasted for them to flee the world."

Ness nodded. "Pu's got a point. Let's get to the kingdom."

* * *

><p><em><strong>4:15 A.M.<strong>_

**_Base of portal to Hyuponia, Lunatea_**

"So, this the kingdom?" Ness asked. "Looks more like a rock slab to me."

"That's because that's not the actual kingdom, Ness." Klonoa said. "We're currently outside the portal to the kingdom. One step through here, we're in Hyuponia."

Guntz nodded. "We've gotta get moving. You guys remember the plan?"

Ness, Paula, and Pu nodded. "Just distract them for long enough, and we'll finish 'em off." Ness said, clenching a fist.

"Well, let's just hope we can do it..." Klonoa said, starting to step through the portal. "If that Chaos Emerald is as powerful as Sonic makes it out to be, we're in for a heck of a fight..."

"Right." Lolo nodded. "May Goddess Claire's light guide us..." She said as the six stepped through the portal...

Once passing through the portal, the scene had changed dramatically. The sun's position had changed to a sunset, and the stone slab was now an entire sprawling kingdom of odd vertical buildings and hanging fixtures.

"Well guys..." Klonoa said. "Welcome to Hyuponia..."

"This... this place looks like it's in ruins..." Paula said. "What happened here?"

"An eternity of being forgotten." Lolo said. "Sorrow was once a forgotten emotion in Lunatea, mainly because people feared it. It was sealed away and everyone mainly tried to forget about it, they were afraid to experience it and let it into their lives. It wasn't until the world was nearly threatened to be drowned out in it that they finally acknowledged it."

"Dang," Ness said. "Sounds like you guys have been through a lot.."

"More than you can imagine," Lolo answered. "Right Klonoa?"

Klonoa nodded in response. "I've been experienced to many dream worlds that have come close to ceasing to exist. Needless to say, I know what kinds of danger can happen. Power-hungry corrupt leaders, lords of darkness, I've handled it all."

"Hate to interrupt, but," Ness stated. "Can we just get a move-on? The longer we talk, the more likely that they flee."

"The kid's got a point," a voice said from behind Klonoa. Everyone turned around to see Leorina standing at the entry gate to the inner kingdom. "We really should be moving if we want to get there on time."

"Leorina!" Lolo said. "You're okay?"

"Barely," Leorina said, walking over to the others. "I barely managed to get out of there before they came."

"Yeah!" Tat said, poking out from over her shoulder. "They just came in and drove us out like a buncha wild animals!"

"We have no time." Leorina stated. "We must get to the Terminus of Tears immediately!"

Klonoa nodded. "Let's get moving guys!"

The seven then took off for the Terminus...

* * *

><p><em><strong>4:30 A.M.<strong>_

_**Ruin of Sadness, Hyuponia, Lunatea**_

"Oh man, how high up is it?!" Ness said, seeing the giant floating palace above the kingdom.

"Rather high up." Leorina said, leaping to a suspended platform. "The rules of gravity don't apply to the structure of the kingdom."

"We do, however," Klonoa said, leaping to another spire jutting out of the wall. "And if we're to get up there, we'll need to take the route that I originally took."

"And exactly what is that?" Paula asked, climbing up to a platform.

"The Nightmare Highway." Klonoa answered. "Lolo and I originally had to take it to get up there in the first place. Looks like we'll need to use it again."

"Well, make haste we shall!" Pu said, running up a wall before grabbing onto a horizontal support beam. "We might be running out of time!"

Guntz nodded. "Let's just get to the access platform, now!"

* * *

><p>In just a few short minutes the seven reached a tall chamber with a large platform in the center. Stained glass aligned the walls in multiple patterns, some shattered and cracked on the ground below. Multiple pipes with open ends pointed at the platform lined the walls.<p>

"Well, here's the access platform." Klonoa said. "I can get this thing moving. Just make sure you're on it."

As the others boarded the platform, Ness couldn't help feel a sense of danger as he boarded. "I've got a bad feeling about this... Why is this platform so wide?"

"We can think about that later kid." Guntz said. "Klonoa, take us up."

Klonoa nodded. "Here goes nothing..." He said, before inhaling deeply and releasing a blast of air from his body. The air went through the pipes and soon, the platform was released from a set of locks and was being pushed up from the air released from Klonoa.

"We're coming after you Ghadius..." Klonoa said to himself as he clenched a fist, looking onward to the Terminus of Tears...

* * *

><p><em><strong>5:00 A.M.<strong>_

_**Terminus of Tears, Hyuponia, Lunatea**_

"Well, I must say, I thought they would have been here by now." The fat boy said from the cockpit of his spider mech. "Ha! They must be running behind schedule."

"This is a rather sad attempt to chase us down.." Ghadius muttered. "And here I thought the dream traveler would be a larger threat..."

"Ghadius!" A voice shouted. The two turned in the direction of the voice to see it was no one other than the child of the wind, Klonoa.

"Well, you certainly took your time to get here!" Porky said, slamming the front legs of his mech forward. "And by yourself to? Ha! You must WANT to die!"

"It doesn't matter about me!" Klonoa said, gripping to his wind ring. "You need to be stopped at all costs!"

"Ha, a defiant one, are you? No matter..." Porky said, leaping forward in his mech. "I'll deal with you myself!"

From behind Ghadius and Porky, Ness, Paula and Pu got into position. "Alright guys, get ready.." He said, charging up a blue orb I between his hands. Paula and Pu followed sort and charged up orbs in their hands.

* * *

><p>"Alright squirt, let's see what you got!" Porky said, slashing the ground in front of him. Klonoa quickly dodged back before flipping over the cockpit of the mech, stabbing his Wind Sabre into the mech, lodging the Chaos Emerald free.<p>

"Sorry, but I'm taking this!" Klonoa said, grabbing the gem as it was flung into the air. "Don't think you'll be needing this anytime soon!"

"Hey! You little...!" Porky said as his mech lunged at Klonoa. Quickly the cabbit boy rolled to the side to prevent being crushed.

"Well, let's try this!" Klonoa said, popping the green gem off his ring and replacing it with the Emerald. Almost instantly the chaos energy began to surge through the ring and his body, amplifying his power. "Not so tough now are you?" He said as a white glow surrounded him.

"You little... I'll wipe that smirk right off your face!" He said, pressing a few buttons on his mech dashboard before missile tubes opened up. "Try this on for size!" He said as he fired several missiles at Klonoa. An explosion and smoke cloud later, it cleared to reveal Klonoa, with barely a scratch on him.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to hurt?" Klonoa yawned. "Let's try this!" He said as two blue and green light orbs came out of his bracelets. A small wind current formed in the center as the orbs started spinning faster and faster before the wind current Drew into a full-fledged tornado pointed at Porky. The wind hit his mech at full force before subsiding, revealing a large blue shield-like barrier around Porky.

"Wh-what?!" Klonoa said in disbelief. "B-but how?!"

"Ha! You think I would jump into this head first without help?" He said smirking. "The good doc hooked my mech up with this shield. You're not getting through this!"

"Now, taste darkness!" Ghadius said, firing off a dark lump at the cabbit boy. Klonoa couldn't dodge in time and was hit be the brunt of the blast. He cried in agony as his whole body burned with pain, wincing at it. "Hmph, even with the Emerald's power, you are still no more than a feeble boy. Pitiful..." He chuckled darkly.

_"Shoot, even with this power, they're still too strong..." _Klonoa thought to himself. _"I need to get the others up here or I don't have a chance!"_

"Surprise!" Porky said before firing off a laser barrage at the cabbit boy. Klonoa was bashed around a few times before the barrage stopped. He was beaten and bruised badly, panting heavily.

"Shoot, gonna need to activate Light Radiance or I'm not making it..." Klonoa said to himself, the two orbs spinning rapidly around him as he was soon absorbed into a column of healing light as the painful wounds dissolved from his body.

"Hmph, how cowardly." Ghadius said, firing off another dark orb at Klonoa. However, the cabbit boy got the preemptive and countered it, slamming it back into Ghadius.

"Oh? Would I be able to do that if I was?" Klonoa said, in a playful mock voice. In his mind though, he was contacting the other three for help now.

"Then try and and dodge this!" Porky said, firing off a large cannonball straight at the cabbit boy. Klonoa saw his moment again and got the preemptive on it, slamming it back into Porky's mech.

"You villains never learn do you?" Klonoa said, smiling cockily.

"Oh, shut up!" Porky said, before having his mech fire off several wires faster than the Dream Traveler could react, wrapping around his limbs and torso. "Let's see how you like being extra crispy!" He said before pumping high voltage through the wires and into Klonoa's body. The cabbit boy shrieked in pain as his whole body was wracked with electricity.

'Oh, come on..." Ness thought. 'How much longer until this thing charges? Klonoa's getting wrecked out there!'

The shocking soon stopped, leaving the cabbit boy breathing heavily on the ground. The wires retracted into the mech, leaving Klonoa collapsed on the ground, panting. "Shoot, need some help here guys..."

"Hmph... how pitiful." Ghadius said, chuckling to himself. "Even with the power of the Emerald and two of the elements, you still can't defeat us on your own."

"Maybe not on my own, but..." Klonoa grinned as Lolo, Guntz and Leorina soon appeared. "Who said this was a fair fight?"

"Klonoa!" Lolo said. "Are you okay?!"

"Not really..." Klonoa said. "I need a bit of a boost right now..."

"Right, the elements..." Lolo said, stepping back, as well as Guntz and Leorina.

A crimson red glow formed in Guntz's gauntlet hand as the red orb of energy grew in size. "Alright kid, use this!" He said, firing it off at the cabbit boy.

A similar glow came from Lolo's bracelet as a white energy orb grew in her hand. "Ready!" She said, firing it off at Klonoa as well.

"You don't know what you've gotten into Nightmare King..." Leorina said, firing off a yellow energy orb at Klonoa.

The other three energy orbs collided with Klonoa's two there, before Klonoa crossed his arms in front of his body before sharply pulling them back, colliding all five colored orbs into a bright flash of light. When the light died down, Klonoa was seen floating a few feet off the ground, his front bangs swooped upwards with his ears, and his stark black fur now glowing a vibrant white. Lolo, Guntz, and Leorina were seen on the ground in their respective defense stances, each with a colored aura and eye glow to that of their respective elements.

"Oh, so a little color change and a bit of floating, BIG DEAL!" Porky said from in his mech. "Let's see you deal with the Hog Rush!" He said, activating a spiked dome over his cockpit before activating a rocket booster charging at the four at full speed. Klonoa reacted and quickly raised up an emerald-color energy shield, but even that wasn't a match for the force of the crash. The four were sent careening backwards through a wall, into another large room. The four quickly got back up as Porky entered the room.

"I have us covered!" Lolo said, releasing a white healing light over her group. "Try to keep them busy as long as we can!"

"Right," Leorina nodded, performing some kind of hand sign, before vanishing. "If they can even hit me, that is." She said, her outline barely visible.

"Well, how about a bit of a bang to start off?" Guntz said, whipping out a giant energy bazooka. "I doubt you can get this off!" He said, firing off straight at Porky. The shot collided with the mech, smashing the energy shield to pieces. "It's all yours kid. Wreck 'em up!"

"With pleasure!" Klonoa grinned, as two large cyclones of wind charged up in his hands. As soon as the raging winds in his hands were big enough, he fired off the massive blast of wind at Porky and Ghadius, causing massive damage.

"You little..." Porky said, seething with anger. "Let's see how you like this!" His mech leaped up before a giant cannon formed underneath it. He was right above Lolo before he fired, too fast for her to react. Lolo was crushed and knocked unconscious as the ball retracted into the cannon. Ghadius soon fired off another dark orb at the Dream Traveler, and he reacted by immediately knocking it back at him. Ghadius wised up and rebounded the shot back at Klonoa, and the speed of the shot kept picking up faster and faster before Ghadius reaimed the rebound, striking it at Guntz at a speed he couldn't even react to. He took the full force and collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"Oh, shoot..." Klonoa said as he saw his two allies collapsed next to him. "This ain't good..."

Porky's maniacal laughter resounded in his capsule at the overlooking scene, however, he didn't notice Leorina reappear behind him. "I'll be taking that!" She said, slinging her energy whip forward and yanking a horn-like object from the mech, damaging it at the same time, before vanishing again.

"Guys, c'mon." Klonoa said, pulsing a reviving wind through Lolo and Guntz. "We got 'em on the ropes! Let's finish this!" He said as the two got up.

"Oh, you're not getting away with that now!" Porky said, activating the spiked dome over his mech again. "Eat death you insolent maggots!" He yelled as he charged the mech at them full force, knocking the three out of the Terminus of Tears, Ghadius following after them to finish them off.

"Ah, shoot!" Ness said from behind. "How are we gonna get after them now?"

"He's got a point." Paula said. "We can't really move from here while charging..."

"Don't worry," Leorina said, reappearing inbetween them. "I can get you three down there quickly. Just hold on." She said, holding onto the trio and vanishing with them.

* * *

><p>The trio crashed through the ceiling of a large spiraling dome before making their own respective craters on the main plaza floor. Lolo and Guntz were out cold, and Klonoa was barely hanging on to consciousness. Porky's mech soon landed near the three, with Ghadius rematerializing next to them.<p>

"Well well! And here I thought a Chaos Emerald wielder would be able to survive more than a simple fall!" Porky said, grinning devilishly. "Nothing more than a bunch of roadkill you lot are!"

Leorina soon rematerialized with the charging trio a bit away from the others. "Alright, you three should be discreet here. Take it easy..." She said before vanishing again as Ness, Paula and Pu resumed their charge.

"...and I'll get you guys back on your feet." She said re materializing near the other three and pulling out the horn-like object before tossing it up, turning into a white light before dissolving into the other three bodies.

**Horn of Life used. Party health fully restored. Automatic resurrection after falling set.**

"Well, now that that's taken care of..." Leorina said, vanishing again as the three got up.

"Alright, just got a bit cocky..." Klonoa said as the orbs started spiraling in a ring in front of him. "But that doesn't mean that I'm giving in! Taste the Winds of Liberation!" He yelled as a giant tornado spouted out of the energy ring.

"Neither are we!" Lolo said as she and Guntz got back up. "No matter how much you knock us down, we're always gonna get back up!"

"You got that right, kid!" Guntz said. "If these freeloaders think they can get away with this, they have another thing coming!"

"Oh, freeloaders huh?" Porky said, a small flame coming out of the front of the mech. "Let's see how you take that being extra crispy!" He yelled shooting out an enormous jet of fire at the trio at close range. When the flames died down, the trio was badly singed in multiple places, trying to hold on...

"Well, I shall end this now!" Ghadius said, spawning in two dark energy blades from his wrists, dashed forward and started slashing and hacking at Klonoa multiple times, before backing away and firing a gigantic beam of dark energy. "Now, drown in darkness!" He said, blasting the trio at point blank range. The silhouettes of the trio faltered in the beam before they slowly disintegrated in the beam itself. The trio of bodies crashed on the floor, bouncing as if it was made of rubber. A small twinkle of light shined above them, before being wrapped in columns of light and brought back to their feet. Leorina rematerialized as soon as they were revived.

"Well," Leorina said. "Let's get this finished, shall we?"

Klonoa nodded. "Let's show both of them what the true power of us are!"

"Right!" Lolo said, helping maximize Leorina's attack. "Let's do this!"

Leorina soon vanished again, then rematerialized with two shadow clones of herself and started wailing on Porky's mech like mad, inflicting massive damage before launching the mech into the air above. Klonoa soon zipped around and firmly smashed his feet into the cockpit, sending it back down toward the ground. Guntz then fired off his firearms and delivered even more damage before whipping out the largest blaster he had and fired it, launching the mech straight back up. "Now taste the divine wind!" Klonoa yelled, cleaving his Wind Sabre straight down the center of Porky's mech. Porky's mech faltered before exploding into a beam of light, bursting through the ceiling of the plaza, destroying it entirely, before his smoldering mech crashed to the ground.

Klonoa smirked. "Well, that wasn't so hard." He said, crossing his arms. "You give up yet?"

"..." Ghadius remained silent. "...hmph, not bad..." He said. "Not that I should have expected anything less from you, Dream Traveler... however," He continued, slashing open a rend in space. "If you are truly looking to stop me, return to Phantomile if you truly want to win. That is..." He said, launching a dark orb into the destroy mech of Porky. "...if you survive.." He finished darkly, before vanishing into the rip in space.

Porky's mech soon sputtered back to life before being entirely shrouded by a dark energy, slowly as the mech repaired itself and powered up to something extremely deadly.

"Ah, nothing like a revival in a newly-powered up mech to crush a couple of roaches!" Porky cackled. Several gun barrels peaked out of the mech itself, pointed straight at the four. "But first, time for a little tenderizing!" He said, firing the guns at an increasingly fast rate.

"Oh shoot!" Lolo said, raising up an energy shield. The bullets constantly ricocheted off of the energy shield with several shattering on impact with the shield before the mech started firing blanks, out of ammunition.

"Guys, now our chance!" Klonoa said. "Let's get him now bef-"

"Oh I know what you're doing! Don't even try it!" Porky said, firing a blast at the four, launching them back and striping them of their powers.

"Wh-what?!" Klonoa cried. "How?!"

"An anti-chaos pulse device." Porky said. "Strips away any chaos power in use. Now..." Porky said, his mech constructing and transforming, gaining multiple laser turrets all pointing straight at the four, before one gigantic laser cannon pointed straight at Klonoa with one solid intent: kill.

"Crapbaskets..." Klonoa muttered.

"You diiiiiiiiiiie!" Porky literally sang, as he fired off the blasts straight at the four, intending to annihilate them off the face of the earth. Lolo jumped out in front and raised an energy shield just as the beam strikes hit. But the brunt of the blasts were just to much, and the four were blown backwards, Guntz and Leorina knocked out, and Lolo barely clinging to consciousness.

"Oh, does it hurt when I do that?!" Porky taunted, pointing the largest cannon straight at Klonoa. "It does, doesn't it?!" He maniacally laughed.

"No! Go away!" Klonoa yelled clutching to Lolo. The Chaos Emerald started glowing a vibrant white before the four vanished.

Porky grinned maliciously as his mech reverted back to normal. "Ah, but what did they expect? The outcome was never really in doubt, those buffoons were clearly outclassed." Porky was so caught up in his self gloating that he still didn't notice Ness and the others behind him, finishing their charge. The three orbs combined together and became one giant yellow one.

"Alright, here goes!" Ness said. Paula and Pu nodded. "I think it's about high time we show that pig king!" The three then fired off the large blast straight at Porky, who didn't take notice until the shot was close to him, at which point he turned around.

"Oh shoot!" Porky yelled, then using the spring like legs of his mech to jump over the shot. "Dang it!" Ness muttered to himself, before laughter came from Porky. "You thought you had me!" He said as he continued laughing.

The gigantic shot that was fired kept traveling for a little while before an armored Mu walked in front of the shot. The shot collided with it and reflected back in the opposite direction, back at the kingdom plaza.

"There's nothing left now!" Porky cackled. "Your last hope has just-" He stopped speaking as he heard the returning shot, hurtling straight for him. "Oh son of a-" he started before he yelled, the shot colliding with him, causing a massive explosion, destroying the plaza dome and multiple surrounding buildings, before Porky was launched into the air and into a dimensional hole, warping him back to the Death Egg.

The trio of Ness, Paula, and Pu got out from behind the blast rubble they hid behind when the explosion went off. Ness couldn't help but just smirk when Porky had vanished.

"That oughta show that fat pig!" Ness said, smacking a fist into his hand. "Let's see him try something after that!"

"Ness," Paula asked. "Where's Klonoa and the others? Weren't they just here?"

"I saw a bright flash of energy." Pu said. "I think they might have used what the hedgehog described as 'Chaos Control'."

"Well, where'd they go?" Ness asked.

* * *

><p>The house was silent as the cabbit set the unconscious Lolo down on her bed, her wounds bandaged as best as he could manage. He sighed. Not only was his original world in danger, but his friends had suffered the most from the entire ordeal.<p>

He stopped and looked out the window. The sun was just rising as they had defeated Porky and Ghadius fled. He gripped his Wind Ring and nodded to himself. He knew what he needed to do, and if he wanted to keep his friends alive, he'd have to go in by himself. Sighing one last time, he placed the white Chaos Emerald on the nightstand next to Lolo's bed before walking out of her room. Unbeknownst to him, Lolo stirred then awoke, sitting up in her bed, bandaging around her head and arms. A look of concern filled her chest as Klonoa was nowhere is sight. Without thinking, she grabbed the Chaos Emerald and left the room after Klonoa.

* * *

><p>Klonoa stood near the cliff overlooking the Sea of Tears, the green gem in his Wind Ring glowing. It was time for him to return to Phantomile and stop Ghadius from destroying it at all costs. Focusing the energy into his Wind Ring, he slashed the air in front of him and opened a dream rift to Phantomile. But before he entered the rift, a familiar voice spoke behind him.<p>

"Klonoa?" Lolo said, holding the emerald. She walked toward the cabbit before tripping over a root, knocking her and the cabbit, along with the gem, into the rift before it closed...


	18. Chapter 17: A Cold-Hearted Reception

**_10:35 P.M.  
>Wind Ruins of Breezegale, Phantomile<em>**

Sharp, bitter cold. Wetness. That was all that the cabbit boy felt as he slowly regained consciousness. He held up his throbbing head in pain as he looked around at where he was. The freezing cold stone floor and chilling wind made it obvious; he was at the Breezegale Ruins.

"Well, at least I got here, but..." Klonoa said, looking around. "Something doesn't feel right. It's... too cold."

A soft moan grazed his ears, and his attention immediately whirled to the stone rubble behind him...and saw a tan tail sticking out of the rubble.

"Lolo!" Klonoa cried before rushing over to the buried girl, quickly heaving the rocks off his battered ally. As soon as she was uncovered, he quickly took her into his arms, her mind struggling to maintain consciousness.

"Ughnnn..." Lolo muttered. "K-Klonoa?"

"Just... it's ok Lolo." Klonoa said, rubbing a small circle on her back. "Just relax..."

"Why... why were you leaving without us?" Lolo asked.

Klonoa sighed. "Because I wanted to keep you and the others safe. This was something too dangerous for you to get involved in.."

"Too dangerous...?" Lolo asked weakly.

"After what happened back at Hyuponia, I didn't want to risk getting you or the others killed over my issues. But..." He said, setting Lolo down on her feet. "Looks like I couldn't really keep you out of this."

"No kidding..." Lolo breathed, looking down sadly. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay Lolo," Klonoa said. "We're just gonna need to get you to Breezegale to hide out until this entire thing blows over." Klonoa said, starting to walk away before Lolo grabbed his hand.

"I'm not letting you go at this on your own." She said, sternly looking into his eyes. "If this world is in danger, I'm not going to just sit back and let you get killed."

"Lolo, please," Klonoa said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "The last thing that I want is for you to die because of me.."

"Then let me help you." Lolo said, her eyes connecting with his. "I understand you're concerned about me, but I want to help. Please..."

Klonoa was silent before nodding. "Okay, but if it gets too rough, get out of where we are as fast as you can."

Lolo nodded.

"Alright, now, let's get to Breezegale." Klonoa said, headed for an exit through a stone archway. "Once we get there, we should try to track down Gha-... oh god..."

Klonoa's words were silenced by the overlook of Phantomile, completely frozen over. Frost plauged the grasses and trees, and a think blanket of snow covered over every kingdom within the dream-like world. The sky above was nothing but a swirling black mess of clouds, churning and spitting out more snow by the minute.

But the most terrifying aspect of the frozen over Phantomile, Frozomile, was the aspect of Cress, the moon kingdom, was not the way the cabbit boy had remembered. As opposed to the white marble with the violet-blue tinting, it was blood-red, charring the further it went up to pitch black at the top. The normally golden emblems were now silver and rusted, and the normally rainbow crystals were variations of black, red, and violet. It was clear what had happened: Cress had been corrupted with an overload of nightmare energy.

"Klonoa...?" Lolo asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"No wonder things didn't feel right...Ghadius is already trying to destroy this world!" Klonoa said.

"Wait, it's not normally winter during this time here?" Lolo asked.

"No!" Klonoa said. "It's never snowed in Phantomile before..."

"Oh my..." Lolo breathed. "So, this isn't natural?"

Klonoa shook his head as he gritted his teeth. "No. Ghadius must be harboring his hatred toward this world for originally imprisoning him, and this... this is his means of revenge. Freezing out the entire world until every last inhabitant suffers cruelly and painfully under his power..."

"Well, we need to do something about that." Lolo said, pulling out the Chaos Emerald. "And you'll need this if we even want a shot at stopping Ghadius.."

"You hold onto that." Klonoa said. "You'll need the power boost from that. I'm... still feeling a bit woozy from that last powersurge."

Lolo nodded, stashing the emerald back into her pocket. "But... I would have thought this nightmare would have ended when we saved Lunatea..."

"Well," Klonoa said. "Looks like our little horror story's just begun..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:00 P.M.<br>**__**Village of Breezegale, Phantomile(Frozomile)**_

Cold icicles hung off the edges of roofs as other cabbits, varying in age and fur color, tried to keep warm within the bitter cold. The giant windmill that overlooked the entire village had frost and icicles hanging from it, and looked like it had barely moved at all. Various construction projects were being conducted in order to make amends for the avalanche from Bell Mountain that had destroyed so many homes. Heading the project was a large, plump cabbit, tan-furred with darker brown accents near the base of his ears, with furrowed orange eyebrows and an orange mustache. He wore a brown jacket with white fur and large brown pants and snowboots, and a signature yellow bandana on top of his head.

"Alright everyone, let's keep this work up." He said, a tone of authority in his voice. "The sooner we can get these houses built, the sooner all of us are able to survive." Heavy stone blocks were being moved by the other cabbits into position.

A young cabbit girl, wearing a red jacket and a white flower on the left side of her head, walked up and pulled on the large cabbit's jacket. "Mister Balue?" She asked innocently. "When is the working going to be done?"

The larger cabbit, Balue shook his head. "Not for a while longer kid," He said. "The work we gotta do in order to fix the village back is gonna take a while..."

"Hmm..." The young cabbit girl mused. "Oh, and there are two people here to see you."

Balue was about to ask who they were, before Klonoa and Lolo came running. Balue couldn't help but crack a small grin.

"Well well," Balue said. "Nice to see the little runt came back."

"Balue!" Klonoa said, him and Lolo running up to him. "What's happened?"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know!" Balue said, pointing at the sky. "This entire freeze-over happened about a couple days before you got here!"

"_Just a few days ago?_" Klonoa thought to himself. "_Either time flows differently between dream worlds, or Ghadius had this planned for a while now..._"

"W-why all the construction?" Lolo asked. "Was this place attacked?"

"Eh, not really." Balue said. "We're getting some more housing built for against the winter storms. We're moving as fast as we can to get these all up before another blizzard hits."

"These blizzards," Klonoa asked. "Are there any directions as to where they might be coming from?"

"At this point were not sure." Balue said, pointing at the floating castle above. "But people have said that this was because of what happened to the moon kingdom."

"That's what I think..." Klonoa said. "But the output of all this snow and sudden blizzards can't be natural, even with Cress being corrupted. _He_ might be able to work fast, but I highly doubt he has these kinds of power."

"What do you mean?" Lolo asked.

"Ghadius had help for this." Klonoa said. "I think we might be dealing with other outside help."

"Well, there was some commotion going on outside the village, out near the old bridge." Balue said, pointing out of the village. "Might want to check that out."

Klonoa nodded. "Thanks Balue." He said, grabbing Lolo's arm. "C'mon Lolo, we gotta go."

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:15 P.M.<br>**__**Old Bridge, Edge of Breezegale**_

"Alright, let's keep it moving!" The small imp-like clown said from the seat in his floating ship. "More mineral deposits should be enough to keep those storm generators running!"

"Hey, clown face!" A voice yelled from behind him. The imp-clown whirled around to see the cab bit boy and the former priestess, standing against him. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Ah, so the feeble Dream Traveller decided to come. Such a brave attempt by someone as yourself, but a foolish one nonetheless!" The clown-imp said, throwing a small capsule into the air. "My troops are already done here, and we have enough material to keep this wretched world frozen over for good! Now to take care of an insignificant rat pair..." He said, flying off.

"K-klonoa, what do we do now?" Lolo said, grabbing his arm. "We can't follow him, they probably have Cress armed to the teeth..."

"We'll find another way." Klonoa said. "If we can..." he trailed off mid sentence as his left ear started twitching. His eyes started darting around the area.

"Wait, Klonoa, what's wrong?" Lolo asked, clinging to Klonoa's arm tighter.

"We're not alone..." He said.

And right he was. Before the two could even react, a darkened shadow rushed past the two, slicing the ropes to the bridge. "And that's what I thought would happen!" He said, pulling out his airboard and landing on it, before taking off with Lolo on his back. Soon the dark shadow that had cut the ropes earlier reappeared behind the two, and the cobra-like creature with it's blade-like wings glided effortlessly after the two. Lolo glanced behind her, and almost instantly her heart dropped.

"K-Klonoa, i-i-it's following us!" Lolo cried, gripping onto the cabbit boy for dear life.

"Just hold on!" He said. "I'll get us out of this safely!" Klonoa weaved the board past the several rocks jutting up from the frozen river.

A loud screech was heard from the creature, Baladium, and soon large crystal-like rocks rained down and slammed into the frozen river, making Klonoa's weaving harder. Soon after, a voltumitous, blood-like liquid sprayed from the mouth of it, large blobs exploding in front of the two. Lolo shielded her eyes as the two rushed through the smoke.

"It's catching up!" Lolo cried.

"Don't worry!" Klonoa said, rushing past more rocks. "We'll lose him at Forlocke Forest!" The river was rapidly running out of room as the two soon approached a frozen waterfall cliff.

"We're running out of room Klonoa!" Lolo cried. She was about to speak again before Baladium rushed by again, before a sharp, stinging feel on her right cheek. She traced her hand across where she was hit and felt a sticky, hot liquid. She pulled her hand away and thought her heart stopped as her hand was covered in the liquid before passing out, nearly falling off the board. Klonoa reacted quickly and grabbed her hand, barely keeping her off the ground.

"Oh, come on Lolo, don't pass out on me..." He said, pulling her back up. "I can't lose you..." Klonoa looked back over to the two going over the cliff, crashing into the frozen forest below...

* * *

><p>The cabbit boy groaned as he held his head in pain. As the pain cleared he slowly felt the cold coming back to him. He looked around to see he was in a native-like house, slightly frozen from the lack of heat. Lolo was laying next to him, bandaged and unconscious.<p>

"Oh! You're awake." A voice had said, female. Klonoa turned his head to see another resident of Phantomile, a Forlockian, and a female one at that. Unlike the normal male ones, the female had short red hair tied off into a spiking ponytail, and the lower bird half was brown instead of yellow like the males.

"You're lucky." She said, setting a small jar with some herbs back on a shelf. "Had I not been out for one of my morning walks, you poor two would have frozen out there."

"Ugh, you got that right." Klonoa said, feeling his bandaged head, his hat on the bedpost. "Thanks."

The female Forlockian nodded. "So, how did you and your friend get here in the first place? It's not common that we get visitors falling from the sky."

"Oh, right... let me explain that." Klonoa said, and then he began his long exposition as to why he was here in the first place.

"I see..." The Forlockian said. "so that's how I found you two buried in the snow." She sighed. "The snow's been getting worse by the hour. People being frozen over because of the extreme cold, and snow piling up to the point of disaster."

Klonoa nodded. "And that's why I'm in this world to begin with. Stopping this endless winter."

"I don't see how you might be able to do that..." She said hesitantly. "But you ARE the Dream Traveler, so I probably shouldn't doubt you.."

Klonoa nodded. "I'm going to see the chieftess. She might be able to help me fix this..." He said, standing up and starting to walk out.

"W-wait, what about the girl?" The Forlockian asked.

"I hate to burden you, but..." Klonoa said. "Could you look after her for a bit? I want her to be safe.."

The Forlockian nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks." Klonoa said, before heading out into the frozen forest...


	19. Chapter 18: A Panic Setoff

_**12:00 A.M.  
>Forlocke Forest, Phantomile<strong>_

The struggle for warmth and keeping the forest alive was evident by other Forlockians, searching for other survivors and attempting to make fire for safety from the large cover of snow the forest. Deadly icicles hung from the branches of the large tree, and the wooden cogs slowly chugged as they turned, struggling to move under the intense frost. The young cabbit boy kept himself moving to avoid freezing, and soon he found himself at the doors of the Forest Sanctuary, the center of Forlocke Forest and the residing quarters of the Chieftess of the tribe. He was about to enter when he was stopped by two male Forlockian guards.

"Halt, cabbit!" One said. "What business you have with the Chieftess?"

Klonoa leveled his head. "I'm here to see her on terms of stopping this blizzard and getting Phantomile back to normal." He said sternly, a look of determination in his eyes.

The other guard looked at him with understandment. "Ah, you're Dream Traveler, no?" He said. Klonoa nodded. "How can you tell?" He asked, before the guard pointed to the Wind Ring. "Legendary weapon, sign of the Dream Traveler." He said, before turning to the other guard. "We let him in. Chieftess will need to see him."

The other guard nodded, then both turned and flipped levers that opened the gate to the inside temple. The gears slowly whirred to life as the door opened, revealing the inside of the sanctuary. Wooden cogs of varying sizes were chugging at a decent pace, while log conveyor belts and wooden elevators were moving slowly, chugging along until they reached their inevitable destination. The cabbit boy jumped onto the first elevator and rode it up until he hit the top floor for that elevator, he then got off that elevator then stepped onto a spiraling conveyor belt until it hit the top floor, then Klonoa stepped onto the last elevator before reaching the shrine at the top. Facing away from Klonoa was another female Forlockian, a bit older that the other normal ones. As opposed to the normal ones, this one had longer maroon hail tied off into a ponytail, and a large natural dress that went down to her feet. In her right hand she clutched a staff with a green crystal embedded in the top of it. This was the Chieftess of Forlocke Forest.

"Chieftess!" Klonoa said, running up and kneeling before her. "I've come to help..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>3:27 A.M.<br>Lolo's House, La-lakoosha, Lunatea_**

"Those little...!" Guntz growled slamming his fists onto the table. "Just decide to LEAVE us here while they go off who knows where?!"

"Look, Guntz," Leorina said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He probably had a reason as to why he left..."

"Then why was Lolo gone as well?" Guntz said. "How the hell could they have gotten out so quickly and vanish without us even knowing where they are?!"

"Look, Guntz," Paula said, trying to get Guntz to calm down. "We're going to find them. Jeff's already getting into contact with the other guys back home to help try and track them down."

"Shouldn't be too much longer now." Jeff called, working on his communicator. "C'mon Tails, pick up..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:47 P.M.<br>**__**Tails' Workshop Area, Mystic Ruins**_

"So, now what?" Sonic asked, taking a stroll with Shantae near the surrounding valley next to Tails' workshop."We've already sparred, which you won handily."

"Well, you weren't bad yourself," Shantae replied. "Well, you could show me around the ruins a bit more." She said, looking around the decayed stone structures.

"Eh, I dunno." Sonic said. "It's kinda boring around here. You don't really get a whole lot of action in this area of the ruins."

"I guess..." Shantae sighed, sitting down on an old collapsed pillar. "Seems like we haven't had time to do anything OTHER than train."

"Well, we don't have any other options." Sonic said, taking a seat next to her. "Unless you have any ideas."

Shantae shook her head. "I'm just waiting until we head out again." She answered, leaning back. Soon a beeping came from Sonic's watch about a message, and he clicked on it to read it. Realization slowly set into his face as soon he grabbed Shantae by the arm and hi-tailed it back to the workshop.

"Tails!" Sonic said as he burst through the door to the workshop, Shantae still in his grip. "What in the blazes is going on?!"

"We've got trouble!" Tails said, typing into the computer. "Jeff just contacted us, and just said they lost contact with Klonoa and Lolo!"

"Wh-what?!" Shantae gasped. "We lost contact?!"

Tails nodded, a sad look on his face. "What's worse, the Chaos Emerald they managed to retrieve is gone as well!"

"Oh for," Sonic said, pinching his forehead. "Do we have any idea where they might have gone?"

"I've got one area," Tails said, typing something into the computer, bringing up the dimension map. "The energy signal of the Chaos Emerald moved to Phantomile, but, again, we've got a problem."

"And that would be...?" Shantae asked, a look of worry on her face.

"We've got dimensional interference going on in Phantomile, and I can't get the portal opened!" Tails said, typing more keys of the giant keyboard in front of the monitor. "With this much interference, we're likely to get killed by entering a portal that unstable!"

"Well, what do we do?" Shantae asked. "We can't just leave them stranded in there!"

"We'll have to wait..." Tails said worriedly. "I'm just worried as to how Terra and Celes are gonna react to this..."

"W-wait, why's that?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:50 P.M.<br>**__**Ruin Valley, Mystic Ruins**_

Resounding blasts of fire and ice occurred throughout the valley as the two battlers waged their magic tactics against eachother. On the one end of the spectrum was the green-haired teen, battered and bruised, with a raging swirl of fire across the right hand, was Terra Branford. On the other end of the spectrum was the blonde-haired teen, less battered and bruised, with a cooling swirl of ice across her left hand, was Celes Chere.

"You must stay focused Terra!" Celes said, charging forward. "Assess the situation, the work around it!"

Terra kept her head focused and watched Celes rush near, then quickly collided her fire fist with her ice fist, countering Celes' attack and flipping over her, landing on her feet, before firing off three separate fireball at Celes. Celes countered by raising an ice wall, stopping the fireball from getting to her, then shattered the ice wall sending dozen of ice shards at Terra. Terra quickly countered and engulfed herself in her flames, melting the ice shards coming directly at her. Once the melted ice shards had now become harmless puddles of water that sizzled against the fire, Terra lowered the fire around her, breathing heavily.

"You've been improving greatly, Terra." Celes said, standing down. "I can sense your magic growing in strength since your last fight... you've done well."

Terra smiled as well, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Eh, you weren't that bad yourself." She commented. "We should probably be heading back to Tails' place. I'm beat."

"Agreed." Celes said, starting the trek back. "We really should be resting.."

As they walked back, the two exchanged stories of their childhood under the Empire, Celes with her training to be a general and Terra with more of her childhood, for what she could the two got near the entrance to the workshop, Terra could hear some babbling from inside.

"I'm just worried as to how Terra and Celes will react to this..." A voice, one that Terra recognized as Tails. Curiously, Terra pushed the door open into the workshop.

"W-wait, why's that?" Terra asked, opening the door. Tails whirled to see Terra and Celes in the doorway, and almost immediately he panicked.

"Oh, uh... hi guys..." Tails said worriedly, trying to keep calm and reduce the amount of panic in his voice. "Wasn't expecting you guys back so soon..."

"Tails, what are you hiding?" Celes said, a stern look in her eyes. "You don't seem like yourself.."

"Well, you see..." Tails said worriedly, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't involve speaking about Klonoa, before a transmission over the computer interupted everything...

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:01 A.M.<br>**__**Forlocke Temple, Phantomile**_

"Ah, Dream Traveler, so you have come again." The Chieftess said, turning to face Klonoa with tired eyes. "Surely you see all this frozen carnage before this land. The Moon Kingdom has been lost to the forces of darkness.."

"Yes, and that is why I'm here." The Dream Traveler said, nodding. "Ghadius said he would return here..."

"And he has..." The Chieftess replied with a heavy tone. "However, we will need help."

Klonoa nodded. "Where do I need to go?"

"Jugpot, you must go." She said, pointing out in the direction of the frozen water kingdom. "The water must flow again for us to get to Coronia."

"Coronia?" Klonoa asked, before he started to leave. "Isn't Coronia up in the sky?"

"Not anymore..." The Chieftess said, shaking her head. "After the corruption of the Moon Kingdom, an attack was launched on Coronia and it was sunk out of the sky. It is now crashed along the coast of Phantomile..."

Klonoa was shocked at hearing this, then nodded. "I'll get to Jugpot as soon as I can." He said, before taking off.

"Take care, Dream Traveler..." The Chieftess said, turning back to the shrine. "You will need it..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>1:15 A.M.<br>Water Kingdom Jugpot, Phantomile_**

It was soon apparent to the cabbit boy that the water would need to be thawed if Forlocke was to be revived. As he leaped on the rocks across the now frozen river, he thought of how Lolo was faring back at the girl's house where he left her. He shook his head.

"I can't dwell on that forever." Klonoa said, turning back and leaping up the waterfall. "Gotta get to the palace..."

Soon after scaling the large frozen waterfall, Klonoa made his way across the large frozen lake to the palace entrance. A chill ran up his spine as we walked across the frozen floor, the deathly silence rang in his ears. Cold, deathly, silence. It was more than enough to unnerve the boy.

The silence was broken by a cackle, and the cabbit boy whipped out his wind ring, gripping it tightly. "Alright, who's there?!" The cabbit boy growled, barring his fangs. "Show yourself!"

"My, my, what a temperament from you this time around!" A voice resounded, dark yet playful in tone. "And here I always thought you were the calm one and being a hothead was reserved for your trigger-happy wolf friend!"

Klonoa gritted his teeth as the voice mocked him. "If a world I'm attached to is on the verge of certain death, I have every right to be angry against who's attacking it!" He growled. The other voice seemed to laugh at his statement.

"Ah, sometimes you really never change, do you?" The voice said again. "Ah, it never seems so..."

"Who are you?!" Klonoa growled. "Show your face!"

"Hmph, I might as well," The vocie said, with a figure leaping down onto the floor. Standing in front of Klonoa was... himself? No, no there was definitely something different and wrong about the cabbit in front of him. Opposed to the Dream Traveler's topaz-gold irises, the cabbit had blood-red irises and thin-slit pupils. The fur that would be white on Klonoa was a matted and dull grey, and he wore a spiked collar with spiked bracelets around his wrists and ankles, and he had longer fangs than the cabbit boy. Klonoa knew in a heartbeat who was standing in front of him.

"You..." Klonoa growled, tightening the grip on his wind ring. "Why did YOU come back..."

"Aw, c'mon, y'know you can't get rid of me." The cabbit said.

"And I regret every minute of it." Klonoa said, backing up. "Ever since _that _incident, I was hoping you would be gone for good.."

The other cabbit merely chuckled to himself. "Ah, even the Dream Traveler is so naive..." He remarked. "You forget that I am forever bound to your dream soul... I am a part of you..."

"You are NOTHING like me!" Klonoa growled, his wind ring now transforming into the hilt of his Wind Sabre. "Why are you here anyways? Are you working for Ghadius and Eggman's crew?!"

The other cabbit smirked. "Well, we DO have a genius here! Not that it would matter, considering your position..." He smirked. "Let me tell you how this'll play out. Either you give me the gem and we go our seperate ways, or..." He pulled out his own copy of the wind ring a metallic silver with a crimson gem. "I'll erase you and take the gem myself. So, what'll it be?"

Klonoa smirked. "Sorry 'pal', but the emerald ain't on me."

The other cabbit frowned at this. "Then tell me where it is."

"Sorry, but I don't give information to my enemies.." Klonoa said. "So, if you just wanna get outta my way, Nightmare K,"

"And pass up an opportunity to fight you?" The other cabbit said, his ring transforming into his own sword. "Not on my life.."

"Well then," Klonoa said, getting into a defensive stance. "You wanna fight? Then a fight you'll get!"

"About time.." The other cabbit said. "En Garde, Dream Traveler!"


	20. Chapter 19: Battle of the Copies

_**2:52 P.M.  
>Tails' Workshop, Mystic Ruins<strong>_

"H-hello?" A voice came over the staticy transmission. "Is this the end for whoever sent out that message?"

Tails rushed over and started typing something into the keyboard. "Yes! It's okay, just speak clearly over the transmission. I'm clarifying the signal as we speak!"

"Tails' who is it?" Shantae asked. "Can we get a dimension coordinate on it?"

"Workin' on it!" Tails said, frantically typing away at the keyboard until the audio was coming in clearly. "Okay, let's see... message is coming from... Dimension #09131985!"

_"Wait a second..."_ Sonic thought to himself. _"Why does that number sequence sound familiar..."_

"Regardless," The voice over the transmission said. "I've received your message, and I'm contacting you to say that we are willing to help. Seeing how a certain menacing Koopa has joined your enemies' faction, we're sending over our help as we speak. They should be there soon..." As the person on the other end finished speaking a green pipe rose out of the ground behind them. Terra let out a small shriek before falling backwards into Celes, knocking the two to the ground. Sonic and Shantae both sighed in exasperation, Sonic pinching his forehead and Shantae completing it with a light smack to her forehead.

"And who exactly are your help?" Tails asked, looking back at the giant pipe that had appeared behind them. "By any chance are they arriving by a giant green pipe?"

"Ah, then that must be them now!" The voice said. "Well, I'll leave you to the introductions. I've got business to attend to here in the kingdom, I hopefully will see you with the bros. when you arrive. Princess out.." The voice finished before the transmission cut out.

"Bros...?" Shantae asked, glancing over to the large pipe. None of them had expected what came next, as a blur of red and green burst out of the pipe. The one dressed in red with a black mustache was as tall as Sonic, wearing a red vest with pockets and a hood, a blue long-sleeve shirt under that, and blue jeans with brown boots. On his head as a red cap with a white emblem with a red 'M' on it. The other one wore the same, slightly taller than the other, except his apparel was green instead of red, and the 'M' was an 'L'.

"The Mario Brothers, at-a your service!" The red one said. "Well, long time-a no see, Sonic!"

"Guess I could say the same to you, dude!" Sonic said, the two fist-bumping. "Haven't seen you since the Smash tournament!"

"Wait, you two know eachother?" Shantae asked.

"I'm curious as to how you know him as well..." Celes added, a look of interest on her face.

"And that 'Smash tournament'..." Tails added. "Wasn't that that one fighting tournament you got invited to a couple months ago?"

"Yeah!" Sonic nodded. "These guys were part of the Smash tourney that was hosted a while back!"

"What is the Smash Tournament anyways?" Shantae asked. "And how come I wasn't invited?"

"Eh, it's kinda complicated..." Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. "Either way, this means we got help in stopping ol' Egghead and his flying circus!"

"I guess so.." Shantae said, before a beeping started going off from the computer. Tails rushed over to the computer, quickly typing into the keyboard.

"Oh no..." Tails said. "Looks like Eggman and Risky are up to something in the ruins..."

"Leave it to us!" Shantae said. "We'll take care of it!"

"Oh, heck yeah! Finally some action!" Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "Let's give 'em a taste of what we've got!"

With that, Sonic and Shantae raced out of the workshop, offf in the direction of the signal...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:04 P.M.<br>**__**Firewood Forest North Sector, Mystic Ruins**_

"Alright boys, keep at it!" The piratess said as the Tinkerbats loaded more mineral onto the transport barge next to her ship. "Once the doc gets more of this stuff, the ships'll be able to run for ages! And more than likely we''l be able to wipe out any sort of resistance! And once that half-blood is in my hands..."

"Then what?" A voice said from behind her. From the shadows emergen the nega version of Shantae again, although her outfit was torn slightly and there was bandaging wrapped around her forehead, pressing her crimson-blood red hair against her head. "What exactly are you gonna do once you corner and catch her? Make her your slave?"

"Well, funny you should ask..." Risky smirked. "I was actually gonna leave that up to you... Seeing as how you have the bigger grudge against her."

"Hmph! Why wouldn't I?" Nega-S said, crossing her arms across her ample chest. "She thinks she's a hero, but what has she actually done? Next to nothing! All her credit for her abilities and transformations came from ME. Without me, she was NOTHING. She will NEVER be anything like she was with ME."

"So then, what're you gonna do with her?" Risky asked, looking intrigued. She wanted to see the half-blood suffer as much as Nega-S would, but this was getting intriguing.

"I suppose I'l teach her a few things about 'respect'." Nega-S said, cracking her fingers as an evil smirk appeared on her face. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look of horror on her pathetic little face when sh-"

A searing blue fireball shot right past Nega-S's face before she could even finish the sentence. She face turned to the direction of the blast, showing a very angry Shantae, hand smoldering from the blast of fire she just launched.

"You better not finish that sentence." Shantae said through gritted teeth. "Why are you two even here to begin with?"

"Hmph, why does it matter to you?" Nega-S retorted.

"Honestly, I don't even know why you try." Risky growled at Shantae. "No matter how many times I put you down, no matter how many times you defeat me, you always come back to pick a fight."

"Maybe because you're a threat!" Shantae growled. "Maybe because you never know when to just GIVE UP!"

"My, my, what an extreme temperment you have this time around!" Risky grinned. "Normally I'd be doing the spanking of you, but, unfortunately, I've gotta run off. But..." She grinned, Nega-S jumping off the ship. "I think your other half has this covered. Ta-ta!" She cackled before the Tinkertub and the transport barge flew off back toward the Death Egg.

"Hmph, now this is how I prefer to settle this." Nega-S remarked, getting into a fighting stance. "Alright you disgraceful half-blood, I'll personally make sure you NEVER interfere with us again."

"Like you wish!" Shantae retorted, thumbing her nose and getting ready to make a move. "I'd like to see you try, seeing how badly I whipped you last time!"

"You asked for it, half-blood!" Nega-S growled. "Let's dance!"

And the two rushed at eachother, intending to eliminate the other...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:04 P.M.<br>**_**_Firewood Forest West Sector, Mystic Ruins_**

"Shoot! Where'd she go?" Sonic cursed to himself after losing sight of Shantae. "I was just right behind her..."

Sonic observed the surrounding area, looking to be in some sort of abandoned castle courtyard. "This doesn't seem right..." The hedgehog thought to himself.

"Well, well, if it isn't the blue rat!" A voice resounded throughout the courtyard. Sonic looked up to see none other than his mustached adversary, Dr. Eggman, floating in his Egg-O-Matic above him.

"Alright Egghead, what's the deal here?" Sonic said. "Why are you and Risky here in the first place?"

"What does it even matter to you anyways, hedgehog?" The doc replied. "In any case, Risky should have finished up with her end of business down here, and I finished up my investigation of the ruins. So, I'll just leave HIM to finish the job here. Farewell, pin cushion!" Eggman said, before taking off into the sky.

"Him?" Sonic asked himself, before a blue flash of metal whizzed by him and stood a few feet in front of him. Standing in front of him was none other than a mettalic copy of him.

"Heh, well!" Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "Long time no see, Metal!"

"I could say the same to you, loathsome copy." Metal's cold voice rang in Sonic's ears. "Now make like a good rodent and leave. The doctor has plans and you or your little fanservice girl are not going to interfere with his grand scheme."

"Heh, like you're gonna stop me!" Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "This ain't Stardust Speedway or Christmas Carnival, but I'll kick your can no matter what!"

"Bring it, you loathsome copy!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:09 P.M.<br>**__**Firewood Forest North Sector, Mystic Ruins**_

A sickening thud resounded throughout the area as Shantae's battered and bruised body and torn clothing bounced off of the ground, landing face-down on the ground. Nega-S, worse for wear, simply strutted up to the injured Shantae and grabbed her by the metal ring around her throat with one of her two ponytails and lifted her up, pinning her against a tree.

"Hmph, not bad," Nega-S remarked as the weakened Shantae tried to break the grasp of her nega counterpart. "You've clearly improved since the last time we've met. However, that really didn't help you this time now did it?" She added, tightening the grip around her neck. "Admit to it. You're NOTHING without me. NOTHING."

Shantae was losing air fast as the grip of Nega-S's hair tightened around her throat. She had to think fast. Channeling the last of her energy, Shantae's hair formed into a fist and smashed Nega-S across the face, releasing the grip around her neck. Nega-S stumbled backwards, holding her face in pain as Shantae fell to the ground, lungs begging for air. Nega-S moved her hand, showing a very bloody nose and an enraged expression. Without warning, Nega-S fired off her metallic silver square rings at Shantae, the rings cutting across her skin, causing the half-genie to cry out in pain.

"You insolent... little..." Nega-S growled, jumping on top of Shantae, holding her arms down with her two ponytails. "You think you're so grand?! You think you're the hero?!" She growled, grabbing Shantae's shoulders, digging her sharp nails into her skin. "You're nothing more than a worthless half-blood! You're not even worth being part genie!" With that, Nega-S's palms started smoldering, burning Shantae's shoulders. Shantae shrieked out in agony as the searing pain only got worse, tears starting to form from her eyes as a twisted grin appeared on Nega-S face, enjoying her light counterpart's suffering...

* * *

><p><strong><em>3:09 P.M.<br>Firewood Forest West Sector, Mystic Ruins_**

Two clashes of blue bounced off eachother as the two hedgehogs fought throughout the courtyard. Sonic ricocheted off a wall before Metal attempted to crash into him, causing Metal to crash into the castle wall. Sonic reappeared on the ground, a cocky smile on his face.

"Hmph, I would've expected more of a challenge from you!" Sonic said, doing the iconic foot-tap. "That the best you got?"

His answer soon came in the form a laser blast striking the ground in front of him. Metal Sonic emerged from the hole, chest turbine smoldering from firing the laser.

"Oh, so chest lasers!" Sonic remarked. "Eh, not bad!"

"Hmph, at least you put up a fight." Metal Sonic said. "Unfortunately for both of us, I've got to report back."

"Aw, what's the matter?" Sonic snidely remarked. "Afraid of getting your can scrapped again?"

"No," Metal said, before a scream rose above the woods. "But, that's why."

Sonic turned in the direction that the scream arose from, recognizing who it came from. "Shantae!" He cried, before taking off into the forest again. Metal stared coldly at Sonic as he took off before revving up his engine and taking to the skies back to the Death Egg...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:12 P.M.<br>**__**Firewood Forest North Sector, Mystic Ruins**_

Shantae was on her last legs, breathing heavily as she stood a distance away from her nega counterpart. Her outfit was torn badly, several gashed and burn marks across her body, an evident sign of harpy claws slashed across the left side of her face and a thin trail of blood from the left corner of her mouth. Nearly everything she tried was failing to stop Nega-S, and she was gaining the upper hand at an alarming rate. The half-genie collapsed to her knees, every breath painful to intake as Nega-S neared her, a evil smirk on her face.

"And so the valiant half-blood falls.." She snidely remarked, yanking Shantae up by her lavender ponytail, destroying the golden cuff around it. "It's sad, really." She remarked. "You could have been quite a useful slave for Risky, but alas, you're the most incooperative little half-blood I've ever met."

"You... p-p-poser..." Shantae sputtered, coughing up a small amount of blood. "You...and t-the others... a-a-aren't gonna get away with this..."

"Hmph, and like you're in any position to try and stop me!" Nega-S remarked, her grin growing. "But, I might as well claim myself a little trophy before I leave you here to die..."

With a quick swipe of her sharp nails, Nega-S's hand tore through Shantae's hair, severing her purple lockes from the others. With a loud thud, a bloodied, damaged, short-haired Shantae hit the ground, knocking her unconscious. Nega-S smiled as she took off, lavender lockes of hair in hand...

"Shantae!" Sonic cried as he came upon the battered and bloodied body of the now short-haired half-genie. "Oh god..."

Quickly he hit his communicator watch to hook up with Tails. "Tails, get the Falcon out here quickly!"

"Sonic?" Tails' voice came over the communicator. "The hell is going on? Did something happen?"

"Just get the Falcon out here pronto!" Sonic said. "If you don't, _Shantae's gonna die!_"

* * *

><p><em><strong>1:20 A.M.<br>**__**Jugpot Royal Palace, Phantomile**_

Swords clashed as the two cabbits clashed within the royal palace. Nightmare-K smirked at Klonoa's fighting style.

"My my, you seemed to have improved dramatically since our last encounter!" Nightmare-K remarked as their wind sabres collided with eachother.

"I could say the same for you!" Klonoa remarked, launching a roundhouse kick into the side of the other cabbit's head. "Though I did learn a few new tricks along the way!"

"I can tell!" Nightmare-K remarked, cartwheeling backwards and rightening himself. "You really have improved..."

"So, now, are you gonna get out of my way?" Klonoa remarked. "Or are you gonna turn into some sort of eldritch abomination and try to kill me now?"

"Nah, I'm not that low class.." Nightmare-K replied, an unusual amount of cheer in his voice. "Unfortunately, Master Ghadius is expecting me back shortly, so I gotta jet."

"Aw, you don't wanna stay?" Klonoa said, a playful mock in his voice. "I was just getting warmed up!"

"Hey, don't worry," Nightmare-K said, taking off. "We'll meet again shortly!" And with that, Nightmare-K leaped up part of the rubble and ice before disappearing in a blast of smoke...

"Hmph, typical of him..." Klonoa said. "Always toying with his prey before going in for the kill..."


	21. Chapter 20: Catching Up

_**3:14 P.M.  
>Airship Falcon, Mystic Ruins Airspace<strong>_

Sharp, erratic breathing. That was all that emitted from Shantae's battered and bruised body as she was escorted back to Tails' Workshop in the Falcon. Sky was the first to approach them when the airship touched down, shocked and fearful as she saw her friend's near-lifeless body.

"Oh god..." She breathed. "W-what happened to her?"

Sonic shook his head. "No clue. We got seperated when he headed out to see what was up, next thing I know I hear a scream, I rush off in her direction and found her like this.." He said, resting her on a bed inside the workshop. "She's alive, but barely... and whoever attacked her clearly knew what they were doing."

"No kiddin'," Rottytops remarked, getting up from her seat and headed over to the injured Shantae. "Look at this. These gash-marks across the side of her face are not made by normal animals. These are harpy slash marks. You wouldn't by chance have any harpies living in this world, do you?"

Tails shook his head. "We don't have any harpies living around here..."

"Then what we're dealing with is potentially, another half-genie." Rotty said, crossing her arms. "Not to mention that whoever did this knew about her hair's power."

"Yeah, someone really did a number on her." Sonic said. "These cuts through her hair are uneven..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:14 P.M.<br>Death Egg, Outer Atmosphere**_

"Well now, I personally call this a success!" Eggman said, strutting over the walkway above the hangar. "Risky's managed to get the energy ore extracted from the forest ruins, and Ghadius is doing well with the storm machines I've crafted... and no sign of those pests being anywhere near the base! Perfect..."

"So, doc, everything goin' well?" Risky said, strutting out onto the walkway. "Just received a message from my troops, we've located another Chaos Emerald."

"Ah, perfect." Eggman said. "Where is it located?"

"Ghadius has already taken care of, since it's in his icebox world." Risky said, rolling her eyes. "Other than that, ran into an annoying pest during the ore extraction. Hopefully Nega's taken care of her by now..."

"You called?" A voice said. Risky turned to see Nega-S standing on the walkway with them.

"Well, you're back sooner than expected." Risky remarked. "So, I assume that you took care of things?"

"See for yourself." Nega-S said, showing her the long lavender ponytail of the genie. "Even if she survives, which is doubtful, she won't be using this for a _long _time. Consider it a trophy."

"Hmph, now this is impressive..." Risky said, looking over the hair with interest. "You've done well Nega."

Nega-S nodded. "Anything to please." She grinned, before that grin soon disappeared. "In other news, I just got into contact with Nightmare-K, and-"

"I'm sorry, who?" Eggman asked. "Who is this 'Nightmare-K'?"

"Oh, it's... it's one of Ghadius' henchmen. He looks like that cabbit brat that escaped from here a while back." Nega-S grimaced. "Either way, he's just contacted me. Apparently that little cabbit brat and his fawning girlfriend have already made it to Phantomile, and are looking to throw a wrench in his plans."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Eggman said. "I've got bots ready, they will depart for Phantomile immediately."

"I will go frame this in my ship's cabin." Risky said, eyes glimmering at the lavender ponytail in her hands. "This will make an excellent addition to my wall..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:15 P.M.<br>**__**Tails' Workshop, Mystic Ruins**_

"Look, even with our magic, she'll need time to heal." Terra said, emitting a green glow from her hand over Shantae. "She's been banged up really badly, and no amount of our healing magic is gonna make her hair grow back."

"Terra, the most important thing we need to worry about right now is her survival." Celes said, emitting the same glow from her hands. "We can worry about her hair later."

Terra nodded. "Sorry," she apologized. As the two worked to heal Shantae, Sonic tried to comfort Sky and Rotty over what had happened to their friend, the Mario brothers were talking to various other people inside the Falcon, and Tails was busy typing away at the keyboard, trying to figure out how to locate Klonoa and Lolo and to get to Phantomile to retrieve them in the first place. Needless to say, the kitsune was stressed, and definitely wasn't expecting the youngest member of Terra's group, 10-year-old Relm Arrowny, as she skipped her way up Tails' side. "Whatcha doin' Tails?" She innocently asked.

Tails literally jumped and fell backwards out of shock from not expecting Relm. Relm helped the poor kid off the floor affter shocking him. "Sorry..." She said, helping Tails up.

"I-it's okay, Relm." Tails said, fixing his fur. "Just don't startle me like that..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>1:23 A.M.<br>**__**Jugpot Royal Palace, Phantomile**_

"Alright, if I remember correctly..." The cabbit boy said, slicing open into a center column of the palace, revealing a hidden elevator. "Here we go... this oughta take me to the underground heat generator. That's gotta be why the all the water's frozen..."

As the elevator slowly creaked down the elevator shaft, Klonoa started to think of the others back at the workshop. By now they must have been in a full-out panic attack over his and Lolo's disappearance. No doubt they were trying to find some way to get into this world and get him and Lolo out as fast as they could...

Soon the elevator whirred to a halt at the bottom of the palace. Klonoa stepped out of the elevator and into the large room, the generator towering above him. Klonoa smiled a bit as he approached the control panel to the generator. He'd get this thing back online and be able to get to the fallen Coronia in no time and stop Ghadius!

A slight tapping was heard behind him, and he turned around to see Lolo, shivering as she walked up to Klonoa.

"Lolo?" Klonoa asked. "What are you doing here? I thought I left you back in Forlocke Forest to keep safe.."

"That nice lady actually helped hel me a bit before pointing me in the right direction." Lolo said. "Why are you here?"

"I'm trying to get the furnace generator back online." Klonoa said. "If we have any chance of reaching Cress, this is our shot."

"O...kay..." Lolo said, uneasily. "How do we get this back online?"

"Give me a hand here." Klonoa said, bringing Lolo closer to the control panel. "I just need to override this and it'll start back up..."

Klonoa started typing all across the keyboard. "We should be able to... ah! There we go!" He said, finishing typing as two levers came out of the sides. Lolo took her position on one side of the generator, Klonoa on the other. Both pulled the levers at the same time, and soon the generator whirred to life, heat starting to emit from the generator itself.

"Alright! We've got the generator up and running!" Klonoa said. "Now we gotta get to Coronia and get it back up and running!"

"Wait, I'm out of the loop. What do we need to do?" Lolo asked.

"The Chieftess told me that Coronia had crashed into the west coastal area, and that it'd be impossible to go through while the entire thing was frozen. Now that the generator's back up and running, the entire frozen ocean should melt down so we can reach it!"

"Okay.." Lolo said, a slight shiver in her voice from the cold. "But you're not going alone. I don't care what you say, I'm coming with you."

"It'll be too dangerous." Klonoa said. "Look, Lolo, I care about your well-being. Don't you see that I want to keep you safe?"

"Don't _you_ see that I care for you?" Lolo said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Klonoa, this isn't like you! Sacrificing yourself just to keep everyone safe is not how you're going to go about this!"

"The last thing I want is to lose any of you guys, especially you Lolo."

"You can't just go through everything by yourself! Don't you realize that people care about you?" Lolo said, tears starting to stream down her heat-flushed cheeks. "What about all of your friends back in Lunatea? Don't you think they care?"

"I know they care!" Klonoa barked. "I wish I could help it! You know I'm forever bound to being a Dream Traveler! I can't get attached to anyone or they'll undergo the same fate that you had!"

"Can't you see that everyone you've met cares for you?" Lolo said, breaking down into tears streaming from her eyes. She collapsed to her knees, sobs wracking her entire body. "I can't lose you again... not permanently..."

Klonoa looked upon the sobbing girl, then walked over to her and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close while she cried, tears starting to flow down his own cheeks. "I-I'm sorry Lolo... I just want to keep you safe..."

"I-I just can't risk losing you for good..." Lolo sobbed, burying her face in the cabbit's shoulder. "You're all that I've had to keep me going... Without you, I'd... I'd..."

"Don't talk like that.." Klonoa said, bringing her head up to his, locking eyes with eachother. "Look, we're gonna get through this, I promise."

"R-really?" Lolo sniffled, looking at the cabbit with tear-stained cheeks.

"I promise." Klonoa said. "And I promise to make up for all the time lost together..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:20 P.M.<br>**_**_Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins_**

A slight moan emitted from the unconscious half-genie's mouth; faintly, but enough for Sonic to hear it. Sonic glanced over to see Shantae, still being healed by the green magic aura emitting from Terra's and Celes' hands. Slowly, the half-genie girl started squirming before her eyes shot open, screaming before she shot straight up, drawing attention from everyone else in the workshop.

Awkward silence filled the air as Shantae's eyes darted around to the others, unsure about what was going on. The silence was eventually broken when Sky and Rotty, rushed over hugging their revived friend. Shantae squeaked at first, mainly due to the burning pain from her wounds had not yet vanished, but she shrugged it off and hugged her friends, thankful she was alive...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:24 P.M.<br>**__**Ruins Valley, Mystic Ruins**_

"Well, I guess this is how this is now.." Shantae said, feeling the shortened hair where her original ponytail was severed. "That... that kinda sucks..."

"Well, hey, you're alive!" Sonic said, sitting down on a nearby rock chunk. "That's what matters the most, right?"

"I guess..." Shantae sighed, taking a seat on a ruined pillar. "Still kinda sad about it though..."

"Hey, lighten up a bit!" Sonic said, flashing her a smile. "It ain't the end of the world yet! As long as old Egghead ain't gettin' the Chaos Emeralds, we're still fine!"

"I guess so..." The half-genie said. "What about Klonoa though? Hasn't he come back yet?"

"We don't know at this point." Sonic said. "Guntz and Leorina last contacted Tails saying that they're coming back soon, but as for Klonoa and Lolo, we're still in the dark on how to get them back."

"I see..." Shantae said. "Didn't Tails say we needed to move base or something?"

"I think he did." Sonic answered. "We're moving to Stratosphere Skyway once Klonoa and Lolo get back, but for the time being, we're staying put."

Shantae nodded, turning back and looking at the ground.

"You know?" Sonic said, looking over to the half-genie. "Short hair doesn't look bad on you."

Shantae blushed. "Thanks..." She said shyly. "I hope the others are doing well..."


	22. Chapter 21 :A Holdup

_**3:25 P.M.  
>Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins<strong>_

"Alright, everything should be set for departure for this floating city you're talking about." Mimic said at the round table. "Weapon systems have been installed onto the Falcon-"

"As much as I didn't want him to." Setzer grumbled. "I'm telling you, the girls with their magic can handle defending the Falcon just fine."

"Now look Setzer," Mimic said, trying to make a point. "Even with their magic powers, chances are our enemies are going to be prepared with magic shields. We'll need these weapons or we'll get shot out of the sky."

"Mimic's got a point Setzer." Tails said. "If we don't prepare well enough, more than likely we're gonna get shot out of the sky."

"Fine, but the second this is all over, those weapons are getting uninstalled." Setzer said, crossing his arms. "Either way, what about Sonic and the girl? Do they know of the plan?"

"I told Sonic about the plan before Shantae recovered." Tails said. "He should have told her by now."

"And as for Jeff and the others?" Mimic asked.

"I already relayed to Jeff about our plan. They'll come back through when we reached the new base." Tails said. "Now, we're just about ready to head out. Someone wanna go get Sonic and Shantae now?"

"We can a-go and get them." The green-clad one, Luigi said. "We'll-a be back before you-a know it!"

Tails nodded. "Okay, but keep it quick. We're headed out shortly."

"We'll-a be quick." Mario said, before the two brothers left the table.

"Okay, let's get the ship ready." Tails said, before a resounding thud occured outside.

"Alright, what was that?" Setzer said.

"Not sure..." Mimic said. "It could be the reinforcements I had called for from the Ammo Baron..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:32 P.M.<br>**__**Ruin Valley, Mystic Ruins**_

"Hey! Sonic!" The red-clad plumber yelled, running up with his brother to Sonic and Shantae's location. "Tails has-a been looking for you!"

"Oh yeah!" Luigi said. "We're a-ready to have the ships head out now!"

"Well that was sooner than I was expecting!" Sonic said, leaping down from his seat. "Well in that case, we should get moving! Don't want him taking off without us."

"Yeah.." Shantae nodded, standing up. "Give me a second, Sonic." She said, running behind one of the trees. A flash later, a small purple monkey emerged from behind the tree and jumped up onto Sonic's head. "Just for convenience's sake and to save on time.."

Sonic nodded. "Alright, let's get going!" Sonic said, dashing off in the direction of the workshop. However, what would be there when they got there would not be what they expected...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:33 P.M.<br>**__**Tails Workshop Area, Mystic Ruins**_

"Dammit Link..." A woman with golden hair tied into a swirl and bolt-like sidelockes muttered. She wore a lavender tanktop with a blue denim vest and long white pants, with a gold sash around her waist and a red scarf around her neck. Two swords were strapped to her back. She stood on the deck of the ship, looking rather irritated at the rock face of the Mystic Ruins cliffs. "You have any idea where the hell this island came from?"

"No clue." A man behind her at the wheel of the ship said, he wore a black shirt with a dark green collared jacket and black baggy long pants, and a green A scabard with a sheathed sword and a shield was on his back. "No clue." He said, looking at the map. "This island wasn't anywhere on the map..."

"Well, that's just great.." The woman muttered. "Well, as long as we're here, let's take a look around..."

The ship was docked nearby at a small pier with a ladder leading up the face cliff. The two climbed the ladder until the ladder ended at the top of the cliff, then walked out to see the entire valley sprawled out before them.

"Interesting..." The woman muttered to herself. "Not sure what part of Hyrule this would have been..."

"It's... odd to say the least..." The man said, noticing the workshop on top of one of the cliffs. "Looks like this place is inhabited at least. Maybe the locals knows where this place is."

"What? That house up there?" The woman said, looking in the direction of the workshop. "Maybe... eh, what the heck, let's check it out."

* * *

><p><strong><em>3:33 P.M.<br>_****_Ruin Valley, Mystic Ruins_**

"Alright Twitch, you have any idea where we are right now?" A voice belonging to an older teen girl said. Her outfit consisted of brown work gloves and an orange onepiece swimsuit with a collar and blue shoulderpads, with a golden belt and blue miniskirt around her thighs and long blue boots. Concealing part of her dirty-blonde hair was a blue rectangle hat with two blue raccoon tails and black and yellow goggles, and two pink streaks under her eyes. "We've been wandering around here for the past hour!"

"Hey, ain't my fault this map's next to useless!" Another voice said, belonging to a slightly younger teen girl. Her outfit consisted of black fingerless gloves and a white skin-tight top that stopped at the top of her stomach, and a silver belt with a umbrella miniskirt. On her back was a backpack filled with explosives and strapped to her right thigh was a six barrel machine gun pistol. She wore round green-tinted glasses and a dome-shaped blue hat with two blue raccoon tails and two ears that covered her blonde hair. In her hands was a map and her expression spoke of her annoyance. "Not my fault that crow gave us this useless map before having us get here! I'm surprised he managed to get that portal thing functioning in the first place!"

"Eh, at least we're doing this on a contract." The older of the two said. "It's not like we work for him anymore."

"Yeah, ya got a point, Vinegar." The younger girl, Twitch, said. "Never thought you'd get the idea to start bounty huntin'."

"This isn't so much of getting paid as it is helping a friend." The older one, Vinegar, said. "I don't really mind helpin' out old Shants again. After all, I've got a bit of a score to settle with that pirate." She said, cracking her knuckles.

"What, for basically forcing us to work for her in the spur of the moment?" Twitch asked. "We kinda didn't have any other choice. It was either fire at the palace or the entire world went under."

"Still, I'm not one to be bossed around." Vinegar said, clenching her fist. "We'll show them who they're messing with..."

"Shhh!" Twitch sounded, listening to the surroundings. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Vinegar asked looking around. "I didn't hear anything..."

"Somethin's coming Vinnie!" Twitch said, grabbing the older girl's arm and pulling her into the bushes. "Quick, get down!" The two girls waited in silence as the figures passed the bushes, before getting back out.

"Well Twitch, looks like we've got company." Vinegar said, cracking her knuckles. "Whaddya say? Ready to make some noise?"

"Oh you have no idea Vinnie..." Twitch grinned, pulling the gun off her thigh holster. "Let's light 'er up..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:34 P.M.<br>****Ruin Valley, Mystic Ruins**_

"Well, how far to the workshop?" Sonic said, running ahead. "I can't even remember being this far away from it in the first place!"

"We-a shouldn't be-a too far now!" Mario said, keeping up along side the hedgehog. "We'll be there in-a just a minute! Just kee-"

"Bro! A-heads up!" Luigi yelled, shoving him and his brother out of the way before a bomb hit the ground and exploded, heaving bits of the ground into the air. Sonic stopped for a second, seeing two figures leaping up and over Sonic and the monkey Shantae before landing in front of them, one pointing a six barrel machine gun pistol at the two, the other in a fighting stance.

"Well, what do we have here?" The older one said. "Looks like a bit of target practice running around like they own the place."

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, lady!" Sonic said. "We're in a hurry right now!"

"Heh, why the rush?" The one holding the gun said. "We're just looking for a little fun!"

"I wouldn't call this 'fun'!" Sonic said, getting into a fighting position while the monkey Shantae jumped off his head. "Alright primadonnas, you want a fight, you're messing with the wrong hedgehog!"

"Well, this is gonna be fun!" The older one grinned. "You're gonna face the full wrath of the Ammo Hunters!"

"Bring it!" Sonic yelled, running at the one holding the gun.

"Stay back Vinnie! I'll handle him!" The gun-wielding girl said. The older girl backed off a bit before being ambushed by the Mario Brothers. The gunwielder pointed the machine gun pistol at Sonic, pulling the trigger and letting out a stream of bullets. Sonic dodged to the side, running circles around the gun-wielder before getting up close and personal, smashing his foot into the side of her face, sending her careening sideways. The girl rerightened herself, a crack in one of her lenses and a trail of blood coming from her nose.

"Oh, so you wanna play like that, huh?!" The girl growled, reaching a hand into her bag. "Well, hope you like a healthy serving of TNT!" She yelled, throwing several lit sticks of dynamite at the hedgehog. Sonic had no time to react before the sticks exploded, sending him flying skywards before the girl jumped up at him, throwing him down at the ground before aiming her gun, firing another stream of bullets at the hedgehog again. Sonic quickly recovered and dodged out of the way before dashing at the girl again, delivering a punch square across the other side of her face, shattering the already cracked lens and cracking the other. The girl bounced off the ground before getting back up, a small trail of blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth and an extremely pissed look on her face.

"Alright rat, no more Miss Nice Shooter!" The girl growled. "You'll regret the moment you tried to fight me!" She activated her blaster and unleashed heck, firing of a slew of bullets at the hedgehog. Sonic dashed to the side before going head on at the girl, colliding his foot with her chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her backwards, leaving her gasping.

"A-aack!..." She squeaked, holding her chest in pain. "N-n-not bad..."

"Switch with me Twitch!" The older girl said, running over and switching places with the younger gun-wielder. "I'll take care of him now that he's softened up!" The older girl rushed in ahead and pulled back her fist, ready to fight the hedgehog. Sonic dashed off to the side, before being caught off guard and took a roundhouse kick straight to the back of the head. The girl then grabbed the hedgehog and slammed him to the ground before being kicked sharply in the stomach, sent upwards before landing on her feet a few feet away from the hedgehog.

"Oh, so you wanna play like that, do ya?" The older girl growled, one of her gloves glowing yellow. "Well you know what? Two can play at that game!" She then slammed her hand into a tree next to her, digging her fingers into the bark before yanking the entire tree out of the ground with the glove's power. Sonic was caught off guard and got slammed by the tree, knocking himself backwards before spinning through the tree. splitting it in half and landing on his feet. "Oh, so throwing trees now? Yeah, great battle strategy you have there!" Sonic retorted. The other girl's glove started glowing yellow as she grinned. "Oh, I don't think you know what I can do!" She yelled, before thrusting both her hands into the ground, digging her fingers into the rock before heaving a gigantic rock slab out of the ground and over her head. "Now, how about a healthy serving of rock for you!" She growled, hurling the rock at the hedgehog. Sonic dashed forward and busted through the rock, slamming into the older girl. A bit of blood flew out of her mouth as she tumbled backwards across the ground before stopping, holding her chest in pain.

"A-aaaooowwwww..." The girl moaned. "N-not bad f-f-for a rodent..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:36 P.M.<br>**__**Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**_

"So, you two got stuck here too, huh?" Tails asked as the two people walked inside the workshop.

"I guess." Tetra said. "The two of us were sailing and then this place just popped up out of nowhere."

"Interesting..." Mimic said, typing something into the computer. "It does appear we have had more dimensoinal distortion..."

"Well, it really doesn't matter at this point." Tetra said, taking a seat on one of the tire stacks. "All we need right now is to just get back to our world."

"Sorry, but we kinda can't do that right now..." Tails said. "We're already going to be moving out to a new location, and we can't really open up another portal..."

"Well, whatever this 'floating city' of yours your going to, we can't." Tetra said, crossing her arms. "Our craft is a sea-worthy vessel, not an airship."

"Already working on it." Tails said. "We've got the crew already modifying your craft for air travel."

"Uh, I don't think I gave you permission to modify my ship!" Tetra said. "It's my ship, so my rules apply!"

"Tetra..." Link said. "The fox seems to know well. It might be for the better that we let him go with what they're going with."

Tails nodded. "Besides, Sonic and Shantae are late.." He said. "Where are they?"

At that moment, Sonic had opened the door, monkey Shantae riding on his head, carrying the older girl over his shoulder, while Mario and Luigi carried the other gun-wielding girl. "Sorry about the 'delay'..." Sonic said, setting the older girl down on one of the workshop beds. "Had these two girls attack us before we got here."

"And who are these two?" Tails asked.

"These are the help I called from the Ammo Baron..." Mimic said. "And you said they attacked you?"

"They instigated the fight first." Sonic said. "They had what was coming to them." A soft groan was heard from the bed as the older girl woke up, looking around her area.

"Now where the hell are we?" She asked, looking around at her surroundings. "Is this the place the old man told us to be here?"

"Yes, this is where I called you two to." Mimic said, stepping to the front of the group. "And I'm rather appalled that you had attacked some of our allies here while you were at it."

"Allies?" The older girl said, before looking over to Sonic and the Mario Brothers, all of which wearing an annoyed expression on their faces. "Oh... heh, hey guys..."

"Alright trigger-finger, what's your beef?" Sonic said, crossing his arms while looking at the older girl, Vinegar. "Any reason you and your bomber friend decided to attack us?"

"Ughhh... yeah, sorry about that..." The younger girl with the shattered goggles said, sitting up. "We thought you guys were working for the guys against Shantae's group."

"How-a would you confuse us for-a them?" Mario asked. "We-a look nothing like-a them!"

"Well, see that's the thing," Twitch said. "The message informed of a robotic blue hedgehog running around trashing the joint. We thought that was Sonic, so we decided to attack him in hopes he was the target."

"Heh, I don't mean to brag but," Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "I did whoop you two pretty good back there."

"Look, all this is besides the point!" Tails said. "Mimic, why are they here to begin with?"

"We need experienced gunners to man the weapons aboard the Falcon." Mimic said, crossing his arms. "Now if I can trust you two to not kill any of our allies..."

"You got it counted on us, Mr. M!" Twitch said, giving a small smile and a salute. ""We'll blow 'em a mile high!"

Mimic nodded. "Okay, then everything should be ready now. Are the modifications to Ms. Tetra's ship complete?"

"I still didn't agree to this..." Tetra grumbled.

"Either way.." Tails said, rolling his eyes. "The modifications should be nearing completion. We'll be ready to he-"

The young kitsune was cut off as a loud static noise came from his large computer. Tails rushed over to the computer, rapidly typing away at the screen.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Tails said, noticing the transmitting light was on. "Is anyone there?"

More static sounds came through but a voice could be made out. Tails recognized it in an instant.

"Klonoa?!"


	23. Chapter 22: War in the Skies

_**1:25 A.M.  
>Jugpot Royal Palace, Phantomile<strong>_

"I can't tell if you guys are receiving this or not," Klonoa said, speaking into the computer console. "But Lolo and I are fine. We're currently working on stopping Ghadius in this world, and hopefully we'll be back after we're done in this world."

"We should be able to handle the situation on our own." Lolo said. "You guys just go ahead with whatever plan you're planning on doing, and we'll catch up after we've cleaned up here. We hope..."

"...hope that you can understand." Klonoa finished. "We'll be back shortly. Dream Traveler out." He said, cutting off the transmission.

"So.. they'll receive that transmission?" Lolo asked, looking unsure.

Klonoa nodded. "They should have. Even with the static interference, it should have gotten through. Now, let's get to Coronia. We can get it up and running and hopefully be able to get to Cress from here."

Lolo nodded. "So, where is it?"

"From what the Chieftess told me," Klonoa said. "Coronia crashed somewhere along the coastline. If we follow along the caves to the southeast of here, we should make it there."

Lolo nodded. "Then we need to get going... If we're gonna stop Ghadius..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:42 P.M.<br>**_**_Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins_**

The transmission cut off, and soon Tails looked back at the group, baffled at what came through.

"Wait, so that was Klonoa?" Shantae asked. "What's going on?"

"Well, I'm not sure. But from the sound of it, Klonoa and Lolo are busy cleaning up house in whatever dimension they're in. Either way, they said they're meeting back with us later."

"Well, that's enough dictation for me!" Sonic said. "Let's load up! We head out now before the flying circus shows up and try to wreck our stuff."

Terra nodded. "Let's get the ships up and running."

* * *

><p>The large engines whirred to life as the two large ships whirred to life, rising up from their drydocks. The Falcon, now outfitted with the new advanced weapons systems, and the Triforce ship, now outfitted for flight, rose into the sky before taking off, the Tornado with Sonic and Shantae on board.<p>

"Alright, all systems are go?" Tails said over the transmitter.

"Everything's fine aboard the Falcon," Mimic radioed. "And young Twitch is getting anxious about getting into firing the guns now..."

"Well, tell her to lay off on the trigger fingers until we get attacked. Last thing we need is G.U.N. on us for weapons firing in an airspace for gits and shiggles." Tails said back through the transmitter. "So keep her under wraps."

"I... don't know what that phrase means.. but she's not firing a single round until we get the clear." Mimic replied. "Now, how are Link and the brothers doing?"

"I'll check in on them." Tails said, switching the channels on his transmitter. "Tails here. Everything good on your end guys?"

"We're-a all good on-a this end." Luigi said. "Link-a has the main cannon a-ready for firing, and Mario is ready in case we-a need to get a-physical."

"Ok, sounds good." Tails said. "Just keep your eyes open for any of the enemy forces and we should be fine."

"Eh, not like they have a chance when we have the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic said, holding the lavender gem. "They even try to take us down, they're gonna get a load of Chaos Energy right up theirs!"

"Agreed." Shantae said, holding the green gem. "We're gonna need these if we're gonna stop them..."

"Hm? Still a little broken about your hair?" Sonic asked, looking over at Shantae, the usual glow in her eyes gone.

"Eh... a little..." Shantae said. "I'll get over it eventually, but..."

"Heads up guys!" Tails said. "Looks like Eggman's calvary has just arrived!"

Looking out into the sea of clouds, a large fleet of ships in varying shapes and sizes were appearing through the massive white fluff. Various ships of the Koopa Troop, Eggman Empire, Pigmask Empire, and Ghadius's Nighmare Forces rose up and set their sights on one main target: the heroes coming straight at them.

"Well, looks like it's time to rumble!" Sonic said. "Ready Shantae?"

"No problem!" Shantae said, transforming into her harpy form. "Everyone else ready?"

"We're ready!" Terra said from the Falcon, her hands cloaked in fire while Celes' were cloaked in ice and Relm' hands in electricity. "Just give us the word!"

"I wanna show those fuddy duddies who we are!" Relm squealed. "They're not getting past us!"

"Let's light 'er up boys!" Twitch said from the cockpit of the giant gun cannon on the bottom of the Falcon, a semi-sadistic grin on her face. "About time I get some blasting done!"

"I got your back Twitch!" Vinegar said from the targeting computer module above Twitch. "Just make sure they don't blow ya sky high!"

"All right! Let's-a go!" Mario said, grabbing a Cape Feather from his vest pocket. Tossing it onto himself, a yellow cape soon appeared and he ran off, jumping off the ship and flying forward toward the looming fleet...

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:15 A.M.<br>**__**Crystallized Caverns, Phantomile**_

"K-Klonoa..." Lolo breathed. "H-h-how close are we to the temple?"

"It shouldn't be much further.." Klonoa said. "As long as we keep moving, we should be okay, and Coronia shouldn't be much farther."

"I-I-I hope..." Lolo breathed, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. "S-s-so... cold..." She breathed, collapsing to her knees.

"Lolo!" Klonoa gasped, running over and scooping her up in his arms. "Oh no... c'mon Lolo, stay with me!"

"C-c-c-cold... s-so... c-c-cold..." Lolo breathed, barely hanging on to consciousness.

"Oh no..." Klonoa breathed to himself. "Lolo..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:17 A.M.<br>**__**Crystallized Caverns, Phantomile**_

"Great. Just great. Now we're lost in the middle of some sort of ice cave with no way to get out!" A lavender cat, female, growled to herself. She wore a dark violet jacket with gold trim with a black sports bra underneath and long white pants with a red pendent hanging off the side with light red shoes with heels. She had a frayed lavender ponytail near the base of her head tied off with a red scrunchie, and a small red gem embedded in her forehead, and her neon yellow eyes said all of her annoyance in one glare.

"You're complainin' mate!" A voice said from behind her. The voice belonged to a younger orange and brown raccoon. She wore a light green vest with a black long-sleeve undershirt and long black jeans with a yellow scarf and green-and-orange sneakers. She had two ponytails with brown tips and a couple bangs in front of her face. Attached to a belt on her waist were two boomerangs and a cutlass scabbard. "This place is so bloody cold I can't summon my water! It keeps freezing before I can even do anything with it!"

"Look, we're finding out way out of this frozen waste, even if I have to burn it down!" The cat said, her fists glowing red with flame.

"Jeez Blaze, calm down!" The raccoon said. "You go nuclear, we bloody drown in here!"

"Well, you wanna keep wandering around this cave for god knows how long?" The cat, Blaze, asked the raccoon. "Look Marine, I know you want to be precautious, but we can't just wander these caves like a bunch of lemmings!"

"I bloody know mate!" The raccoon, Marine, said. "Strewth! Why ya gotta go and lose your cool now?"

Blaze started shooting her flames, melting the ice in front of her while Marine lagged behind, trying to stay out of her way. It wouldn't be long before an inevitable meeting would occur...

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:20 A.M.<br>**__**Crystallized Caverns, Phantomile**_

The cabbit jumped at the sound of sizzling before a blast of fire shot through the wall. With Lolo in his arms, he dodged out of the way of the giant fireball to see a lavender feline cat, hands ablaze and an irritated look on her face. Quick to react, Klonoa got to his feet and transformed his ring into his Wind Sabre. "Alright, what business do you have here?!"

"Maybe I should ask you the same thing!" The feline said. "Now where the hell am I?!"

"This is Phantomile..." Klonoa said, before dodging out of the way of a fireball.

"Now why the hell am I here?" The feline growled, her hand smoldering. "And I expect an answer before I turn you to ash."

"Blaze!" A raccoon squealed, running up to the cat's side. "Ya bloody drongo! The heck are ya doin', trying to kill someone?!"

"Stay out of this Marine!" The cat, Blaze growled. "This is between me and the cabbit! It's none of your business!"

"I make it my bloody damn business when you're trying to kill someone for no reason whatsoever!" Marine retorted. "Besides, why don't you notice the girl that's bloody unconscious on the floor?!"

"What are you..." Blaze growled, before noticing the unconscious Lolo on the floor, soon realizing the error in her way of interrogating.

"Yeah, not so high and mighty now, are ya?" Marine scoffed. "Now bloody help the poor mate! She'd be a popsicle in this frozen wasteland soon!"

Blaze nodded before rushing over to the poor girl, heating her hands to try and warm the unconscious Lolo...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:47 P.M.<br>**__**Airspace**_

Bullet Bills and bombshells were being blasted left and right as Shantae flew Sonic amidst the chaos, flinging him and having him spin and slam through multiple Koopa Troop airships, taking them down. Mario flew through the airships, spinning bombshells back at the ship's cannons and blowing them outta the sky. Several blasts of magic were blasted left and right, the airships exchanging blows until the enemy airships started dropping like flies.

"Oh heck yeah!" Sonic yelled, smashing through another airship, getting caught by Shantae's talons as he flew away on her. "Nothing like taking down a couple of Egghead's airships to delay his plan a little longer!"

"You got that right!" Shantae said before noticing a blue streak dart across the sky. "And it looks like we've got company!"

"Well, this shouldn't be too difficult. Let's show 'em a thing or two!" Sonic cockily said as the metallic blue streak flew straight at the two...

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:23 A.M.<br>Crystallized Caverns, Phantomile**_

"I apologize for that rather uncouth entrance..." Blaze said as she tried to warm up Lolo from the cold. "We're a bit on edge right now because of this entire mess."

"No kiddin'," Klonoa said, crossing his arms. "We've got bigger issues. With this entire world-freeze, Lolo and I have no time to waste. We're on our way to a crashed ruin in order to get where we need to get going."

"Strewth, mate, sounds like a REAL bloody drongo yer goin' after!" Marine said. "Hey, Blaze, mind if we tag along to help 'em a bit?"

"Marine, please," Blaze said. "We don't have time to mess around when we're lost in a foreign world. Until we find some way back or someone we know, we can't afford to putz around and waste time."

"Aw, you're just upset cuz you're not in power, huh?" Marine teased. Blaze gave her a single look and shut her up quick.

"We've got no time for sarcastic remarks right now. We need to find our way out once this girl regains consciousness." Blaze said. Soon Lolo started shuddering before Blaze turned her attention to the girl, as her eyes slowly opened and she sat up.

"Owww..." Lolo moaned as she held her head in pain. "Wh...what happened?"

"You've been out cold for quite some time now. I've only just recently managed to get you awake," Blaze said, helping Lolo up.

"Oh, well... thanks.." Lolo said, scurrying over to Klonoa. However she never fully got there as she slipped on the ice and fell forward, the white Chaos Emerald falling out of her skirt pocket and plinking across the ground. Both groups remained still in silence, looking at the Chaos Emerald, before Marine walked over and picked up the emerald.

"Blaze... you see this?" Marine said, holding up the white gem and handing it to Blaze.

"Yeah, this looks like one of the Chaos Emeralds..." Blaze said, looking at the two. "How did..."

"Look, I can explain," Klonoa said, taking a step back. "I ran into this guy named Sonic and-"

"Oy! You met Sonic, mate?" Marine said. "Blaze, I think we can trust these blokes!"

"Why do you say that Marine?" Blaze said, holding the emerald. "How do you know we can trust them?"

"Listen, we're friends with Sonic." Klonoa said. "We're trying to stop this guy named Eggman who's allied with other villains from other worlds, including ours!"

"Hmph, sounds like you're in a hell of a predicament." Blaze remarked, tossing the emerald back to the two, Klonoa catching it. "I'd love to stay and chat, but Marine and I really need to get going now."

"Aw, c'mon Blazey, why don't we help 'em out?" Marine said. "The blokes look like they could use a hand."

"Marine, we need to go. Now." Blaze said sternly. "We have no time to waste for something so trivial."

"The life of an entire world isn't trivial!" Klonoa said. "If we don't stop Ghadius, this entire world goes under!"

"What is your deal anyway?" Lolo said. "You don't seem like you want to help."

"C'mon Blaze, can't you just help them?" Marine said, pulling out the puppy-eye face. "Would you do it for Sonic?"

"Sonic..." Blaze said to herself. Blaze went silent, thinking over the situation. The other three stood in silence, waiting for Blaze to answer.

"Uh, Blazey?" Marine asked. "You okay?"

"Hmmm..." Blaze muttered, before turning to Klonoa and Lolo. "Very well then, let's get going. Where is this fallen ruin you need to go to?"

"Just through this cave." Klonoa said, indicating a path through it. "If we just get through here, we can make it to Coronia."

Blaze nodded. "Then let's get going. We won't have much time."

Klonoa nodded, then the four took off for Coronia...

* * *

><p><em><strong>3:49 P.M.<br>**__**Airspace**_

"Yo, metal head!" Sonic said, latching back onto Shantae's talons. "Try this one on for size!" He yelled, Shantae flinging him and him curling into a spinball at super-fast speeds, slamming into Metal Sonic at full speed, knocking him sideways and off course.

"Let's keep it moving people!" Tails said from the Tornado. "We've only got a couple more ships to take down before they'll have to retreat! Don't let your guard down!"

"Oh yeah! It's-a Mario time!" Mario said, spinning through the air, knocking Paratroopas sideways into Bullet Bill cannons, causing them to detonate and send more ships down in a blaze of not-so-much glory.

"Nice shot!" Sonic yelled to Mario. "I bet ol' Flames for Brains ain't gonna be too happy about that!"

"You-a got that right!" Mario said, jumping off the sinking airship and flying up with the Cape Feather. "He's-a gonna need a lot more to stop us!"

"_Ohohohoho! Don't think we'll be giving up that easily!_" Eggman's voice boomed from the flagship speakers. "_You haven't even seen our newest weapon yet!_"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it? Another Metal Sonic?" Sonic sarcastically remarked, bouncing off of Metal's head. "I've fought dozens of those models. You act as if they keep working!"

"I suggest you silence yourself, copy!" Metal Sonic retorted, blasting the blue blur straight up into the sky. "Less you want to become pulverized mincemeat!"

"Hah! Nice try, bolt bucket!" Sonic said, slamming back down on top of Metal's head. "Mincemeat ain't even a meat!"

Metal Sonic soon grew irritated at his flesh-filled copy's snide remarks. "Doctor," He said over his transmitter. "Now would be the time to release her..."

"_Ah, yes, right away!_" The doctor said over the speakers. "_You brats, get the butter ready..._"

"_Eggman!_" Risky's voice interjected through the loudspeakers. "_What kind of sick joke ar-_"

"_I'M GOING TO MAKE TOAST!_" Eggman yelled before a large casing fired from the flagship. The capsule then burst in midair, with a figure soon appearing as the smoke cleared. The floating figure was definitely female, with dull orange hair and cyan, almost robotic eyes. She wore a grey cloak with a red pearl-like gem at the neck of it. "_I'd like to introduce my newest member of the Empire, under the Kefka division, a revolutionary breakthrough in human genetics and android robotics, Android 71N4! Codename: Tina!_"

"An esper?!" Terra gasped. "He managed to create an esper?!"

"It doesn't seem like any normal esper," Celes remarked. "It appears to be a copy of you, Terra."

"Then I'm going after it." Terra said, jumping off the Falcon and flying off in the direction of the android.

"Hmph, so you copied Terra, big whoop!" Sonic said, still standing on top of Metal's head. "What makes her so special compared to our HALF-ESPER?"

"_Oh, I suggest you take her for a little 'test-drive'._" Eggman mocked. "_That is, unless you're too scared!_"

"Pfft, us? Scared?" Shantae said. "Please, you're about as threatening as a bag of chatter-teeth!"

"WOULD YOU GET OFF MY DAMN HEAD!" Metal Sonic roared, grabbing Sonic by the ankles and slammed him into the nearby airship. "I am not a platform for you to just stand on me!"

"Eh, I dunno, was kinda comfy!" Sonic remarked, getting up before Android 71N4 landed right behind him, fire in hand, ready to roast the hedgehog...

* * *

><p><em><strong>2:25 A.M.<br>Mechanical Ruins, Phantomile**_

After a few more minutes of wandering the icy caverns, Klonoa and his group made it out of the caves and were soon met with a large crashed foundry, frost clinging to it like a parasite. Multiple bronze walls were destroyed and decorative pipes had burst, leaving the entire ruin as a sorry wreck. Klonoa could only stare at the entire place with horror. Had the assault launched on Coronia by Ghadius did that much damage? Did anyone even survive the wreck? Seeds of doubt started planting themselves in Klonoa's mind as the four walked toward the ruined Coronia...

"Well, this was one hell of a crash." Blaze muttered. "Alright cabbit, how are we going to get this thing off the ground?"

Klonoa shook his head out of thought. "We're gonna need to get to the main funrace of this place. It's been what's keeping Coronia aloft the entire time. Without it, well, this happens."

"Place is a wreck, mate." Marine said, thumping the side of the crashed foundry with her fist. "Exactly how this scrap is gonna fly again I ain't sure."

"We'll know once we get in." Klonoa said. "Now keep your guards up. Chances are Ghadius has already caught wind that we're coming."

"Uh, does that cement that statement mate?" Marine, unsheathing her cutlass and pointing it in a direction. The other three turned to see a large amount of robots coming at them from the nearby plains. "Looks like we can officially confirm our suspicions of Eggman having a hand in this!"

"Well then, they wanna rumble?" Blaze said, her hands igniting. "Well, I haven't had a good fight in a while. this should be fun..."


End file.
